Trapped in Yu Dao
by Loopy777
Summary: Sequel to 'Trapped in Ba Sing Se' and entry for Maikka Day 2014. Mai (now a Secret Agent of the James Bond variety) and Sokka (still just a meat-head) wind up trapped in Yu Dao, the newest Most Important City in the World, and deal with mystery, murder, and their strong attraction to each other. Beta'd by Lunatique.
1. The Spy Who Tolerated Me

**The Spy Who Tolerated Me**

_Ember Island_  
_Early Autumn_  
_ 2 Weeks After Sozin's Comet_

Mai was alone in a crowd, but she was used to that.

Ember Island was always a place dedicated solely to fun, but it usually wasn't as chaotic as the scene was this evening. However, word had arrived day before that the Hundred Year War was over, and the combined forces of the Avatar, the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, and a mysterious faction called the White Lotus were surrendering. Being in the employ of those forces, specifically those White Lotus folk, Mai was aware that 'surrender' was in this case Fire Nation-talk for "agreeing to give back all the Fire Nation land they captured during their unstoppable invasion over the summer, in exchange for an end to hostilities and all the colonies being returned to the Earth Kingdom." And so a 'Freedom Festival' was being held all across the island.

The Fire Nation was not famous for its grasp on reality.

A mask hid Mai's face from view, just like many of the people in the crowd around her. She was not given to facial expressions- that was an indulgence she had given up years ago- but with the mask in place, she was free of the baggage and dangers of her identity. She might have been born and raised in the Fire Nation, and even served the Royal Family, but all that had changed last spring, in Ba Sing Se. Many things had changed in Ba Sing Se, not the least of which was Mai's confidence for her place in the world. Thus, she had chosen for her disguise a white _Noh_ mask of a woman with sunken eyes and red lips, a fairly boring choice for a festival.

It was a fact that Mai's 'date' was making more than clear.

"I can't believe you," Ty Lee said from behind her own Spirit of Roses mask. "You could be a dragon, or a smiling komodo rhino, or even a sooty copper fritillary. A _sooty copper fritillary_, Mai. But instead you pick the plainest mask you could find."

"How nice of you to notice."

Ty Lee cocked her head in a way that conveyed the deep frown beneath her own mask to anyone who really knew her, but then she shifted her gaze to the other side of the small plaza. "Ooh, there's a cute guy selling Firecracker Rice! I'm going to buy a carton. Don't worry, I'll get an extra pair of chopsticks."

Mai nodded. "Be quick." As Ty Lee dashed off, Mai did another distant examination of the area and tried to ignore a rowdy rendition of 'The Earth King has no Fireballs' from a nearby group of celebrating men. Mai had only met the Earth King in passing, when she helped Princess Azula take over Ba Sing Se, but given that his rebel forces had expelled the Fire Nation from their city and went on to serve as the backbone for the Avatar's invasion force, she didn't think the song was particularly apt. And certainly, the Fire Nation had little to brag about. Ozai had disappeared, in a move that was less of a 'tactical retreat' and more of 'running scared like a chicken-pig at the slaughter house,' and its new Regent rulers had surrendered to the invaders.

On the other hand, Mai could attest that Prince Regent Zuko and Princess Regent Azula did indeed have access to fireballs, and apparently that was enough.

Her gaze traveled over the plaza, a little collection of shops and cafes that had brought their wares out into the open air. Revelers moved from display to display, clasping hands with strangers and trying food and wine from every visible source. Only one business in the plaza had not turned itself inside out for the night, a former villa now marked with the characters for Entertainment and Exclusive. The sounds of actual professional music wafted from within to compete dully with the raucous singing coming in the streets.

Ty Lee soon returned- face once again exposed below a raised mask- and was already digging into her rice with a pair of chopsticks. Another pair stuck up out of the rainbow-colored grains like incense sticks at a grave. "We ready?"

Mai answered by slipping into the crowd. She cut through the carousers like a knife through the air, angling and shifting her weight so that she didn't so much as brush against the teenaged fools who tumbled and stumbled through the plaza. Although she continued to eat, Ty Lee followed with even more grace, even while stopping to throw a few winks at some boys who offered her hopeful smiles. As the pair drew up to the former villa, she finally pushed her mask back down.

At least Ty Lee could be counted on to take the job seriously when it was important.

They were stopped at the main entrance by a man who stood like a haphazard pile of muscles. "Club members only, ladies."

Mai produced a coin from her sleeve, and held it up for examination. It wasn't proper Fire Nation currency, and wasn't even made of a precious metal, but the image engraved on the face of the token made it valuable all the same. It had been included with Mai's written briefing for this mission, and she couldn't help but wonder how Iroh had gotten it, if it was even real.

Fortunately, it was real enough for the bouncer, who nodded and waved them through to the main dining room.

Mai and Ty Lee stopped to scope out the scene. At the far side of the room, a stage hosted a band that was playing something bouncy while a line of young men and women wearing strategic scraps of clothing recited melodic poetry and very carefully did not move in any way that could be construed as dancing. Mai might have betrayed the Fire Nation at Ba Sing Se when first tried to save Zuko from Azula, later saved Sokka of the Water Tribe despite his technically being an enemy soldier, and then finally joined Iroh in a campaign to invade her homeland and end the war, but she was still Fire Nation enough to approve of the lack of dancing. As she had been taught as a child, dancing was almost like art, art was almost like a political statement, and once politics got into the mix, _someone_ was going to get set on fire.

Rather than kneeling at a table or hanging around the stage, Mai led Ty Lee along the edge of the dining room, to a door set in an unobtrusive corner that had been described in her briefing papers. A tall servant woman with her hair in a tight bun was standing guard in front of the door, and her eyes hardened at Mai's approach, but she made no overt moves.

Mai stopped just short of punching distance, bowed low, and then spoke from beneath her mask, "I would like to see the boss."

"I don't care what you'd like," the servant sneered. "Get out or I'll have you thrown out."

"Very well." Mai brought hands together within her sleeves like a proper Fire Nation lady. "Then please tell the boss for me that I'm pretty sure this can be resolved without Princess Regent Azula being involved. She's quite adamant about finding her father, but I think the rest of us would prefer to resolve the issue without any complications."

The servant woman's expression changed instantly, and Mai indulged in a smirk behind her mask. She had always known about the fear surrounding Azula's reputation in the years when they had been friends, but it wasn't until Mai began lying to the Princess in Ba Sing Se that she learned firsthand just how terrifying the woman herself could be. Mai might be Azula's enemy now, even if the Princess believed Mai herself to be dead, but she still enjoyed turning that fear around to work for her.

The servant's face once again settled into something professional. "Wait here." She slipped through the door, and soon returned. "The boss will see you, but first you must be searched for weapons." She caught sight of Ty Lee's rice. "You can't bring that in."

Ty Lee gave that lip-quivering face of protest that she was so good at. "Awwwww, please? I just bought it, and it's nice'n'hot. I haven't had anything to eat allllll day!" Even Mai sometimes succumbed to the power of that face and tone, although she'd never admit that.

The servant was made of no tougher stuff. "Ugh. Fine. But it will have to be searched for weapons, too." Ty Lee nodded with evident satisfaction, and the servant led the way through the door and up a set of stairs. So far, so good.

Now for the dangerous part.

* * *

"There, the Ember Island Illuminaries club." Super Secret Agent Sokka pointed to the building at the far end of the busy plaza. Around him, the festival pumped and pulsed and completely ignored him, satisfied enough by his stolen red clothes to miss his blue eyes. He would have preferred a better disguise, perhaps a beard and tinted glasses to go along with a funny voice, but this mission had been thrown together at the last minute, and so Sokka was force to hide behind a shirt. A shirt with holes in it, no less. "According to our friend on the docks, Boss Pantu's office is on the third floor. I'm sure Ember Island's biggest smuggler has _some_ record of where she sent Ozai, and once we find it, Operation: 'Hunt Down the Abdicated Fire Lord and Drag Him Whining to the Earth Kingdom Where He Will Be Imprisoned Forever' shall be successful!"

Beside him, Suki was also sporting the red-clothes/blue-eyes fashion that was all the rage these days with secret agents illegally operating on foreign soil, and turned to offer an incredulous look. "Is that _really_ what our mission is called? It doesn't exactly seem Aang's style..."

"Operation: 'Sarcasm' is not approved for operations at this time, Agent Suki." He winked and added, "We're keeping it in reserve as my secret weapon."

"I think the new treaty outlawed the use of sarcasm in enemy counties." She gave a wink of her own, and then turned back to face the club. "So the sooner we finish this, the sooner I can get back to Kyoshi Island. How are we going in? I've never actually seen you use the front door to anything."

Sokka wondered what she meant about getting back to Kyoshi Island. Did she really plan on leaving when things were still so crazy? "That's because they _expect_ you to use the front door."

"Who's 'they?' "

"Exactly! Anyway, we don't have one of those membership tokens our source said all club members have, and counterfeiting something like that is a little beyond my resources right now, so breaking in is our only option."

Suki nodded. "It should be easy enough. I can jump up and run across the tops of everyone's head in this plaza, and then leap to grab one of the second floor window sills. I can either go through that window, or flip myself up to a third-floor window. How about you?"

Sokka was left dumbfounded for a long moment. "Um, I can... sneak in... through the back... somewhere?" His brain finally caught up with his mouth. "Okay, new plan. You wait out here as backup while I infiltrate through the back and look around. If you hear trouble, do that jumpy flippy thing you just said and come help me get out of there. Sound good?"

Suki's grin was all teeth. "You've come a long way, letting your girlfriend be your muscle."

"Girl muscle is the best muscle, now and forever." They parted with a kiss, and then Sokka dived back into the crowds, a man on a mission to avoid his girlfriend having to come and save his butt.

After Ba Sing Se, he was due some good karma in that regard.

* * *

Boss Pantu's 'office' looked like the dark heart of Ember Island itself. Just to get to the offered chairs, Mai had to step around a changing screen that had been painted with a mural of a beach, the surfboard left leaning against it, and what looked like theater props from the Ember Island Players' award-winning interpretation of Love Amongst the Dragons just lying in the middle of the floor. Decorative fans, all painted with scenes from around the Island, were hung up on the walls, and beaded necklaces had been left dangling on everything that could support them. Anything ever associated with tourism on Ember Island had a representative somewhere in the office.

It was all almost enough to eclipse the massive darkwood desk positioned at the rear of the room. The thick woman seated at the desk was not so easily missed, though. Her only movement was to lethargically stroke the white cat sitting in her lap, but her eyes were anything but relaxed. It made Mai wish she had her knives, and the feeling reminded her too much of pretending to be a Kyoshi Warrior back in Ba Sing Se. That had been a... _vulnerable_ time.

Mai and Ty Lee took their seats in the offered chairs, the acrobat still clutching her bowl of rice and chopsticks. As soon as they were settled, Boss Pantu shifted the cat in her lap and spoke. "My people tell me that you've been speaking of associations that are best left forgotten."

Mai was glad for the mask on her face; she still wasn't used to being a spokesperson, and this wasn't a problem that could be solved with a knife. "Forgetting the Fire Lord isn't going to be as easy as you'd like. The whole world is looking for him, and the trail has led to you. You helped him get off Ember Island?"

Pantu's expression didn't change. "Who wants to know? You mentioned Princess Regent Azula."

Mai weighed the notion of perpetuating that lie, but decided that Pantu wasn't the type to fall easily for deceptions. "I'm not a direct representative of the Fire Regents, but they're involved in the manhunt, the same as I am. I speak for... a more negotiable faction. We can pay you for information about Ozai, and then forget where it came from. And the sooner Ozai is found, the sooner everyone will stop looking for him on your island."

"I don't make deals with people who I don't know. You come to me in a mask, representing unknown people? Young lady, I don't know what kind of criminal you think I am, but that type of thing is simply not done this close to the Capital. We cover ourselves only in silks. Give me your name, or I shall show you some of the weapons hidden in my silk."

The cat in Pantu's arms let out a hiss. If that was rehearsed, Mai was impressed.

She considered the ultimatum; it was clear that she couldn't exactly announce herself as Lady Caldera Yu Mai, but that didn't leave many options. She had, more or less, lost herself in Ba Sing Se. She had betrayed Azula to save Zuko, and later Sokka when it worked out that they had somehow managed to become friends. In turn, she herself had been abandoned by the suspicious princess, and had been forced to rely on General Iroh to protect her from the 'mighty' defenders of Ba Sing Se. Her work for him had been a form of repayment, carrying messages to his White Lotus friends to join him in invading the Fire Nation and bringing the war to an end. It suited Mai well enough since ending the war would keep the people she cared about safe, and also give her something exciting to do. Now that the war was over, she was still working for Iroh mainly out of a lack of other options. Her family had been driven out of New Ozai- although it was probably back to being 'Omashu' now- and no one knew where they were. The Avatar and his friends were overseeing their army's withdrawal from the Fire Nation, and then they'd be doing all the scut work of transitioning the colonies back to Earth Kingdom rule.

She was just Lady Mai- nothing more, and nothing less.

"Noh," she finally said from beneath her black white Noh-mask.

Pantu frowned. "No?"

"Noh."

"No, you won't tell me your name?"

"No, I'm telling you to call me Noh." Mai ignored Ty Lee's giggle. "I mean no disrespect, but not all of us enjoy the protections that you do. I'm a facilitator offering promises, letting you know that there is an alternative to becoming the next target of the people who sent the Fire Lord running scared. An opportunity. You don't need to trust me, you just need to know that the world is a friendlier place than it was before we met."

Pantu just shook her head. "Pretty words. But they aren't what I asked for." She lifted a hand from her cat to make a small motion, and Mai's instincts signaled danger a moment before the sounds of heavy boots came from the rear of the room.

She turned to find the exit blocked by three big men in the armor of the local Home Guard division.

Well. It seemed that this was a problem that could be solved with a knife after all.

Too bad she didn't have one.

* * *

The club's unsightly backside did indeed offer plenty of infiltration opportunities, especially for an experienced connoisseur like Sokka. Sadly, a disturbing lack of Momo or other handy distractions left him without any sure-ice way avoid attention, but he could at least get into the building with the ever-reliable 'Dress like an Employee' backup plan.

If only Sokka could find a uniform conveniently lying around where he could steal it unnoticed.

Servants were coming and going through the curtain-covered back door with all manner of goods, and quite a few crates were left lying around the little patio that was apparently serving as the club's supply depot. Sokka crouched behind a stack of wine jugs and spied on the general comings and goings of the scene. He waited until the latest batch of deliveries tapered off, then scampered to the curtain and slipped underneath it. He found himself in a room filled with scattered crates that unfortunately did not contain any employee uniforms, and quickly stepped through the clutter to the doorway and hallway beyond. He then affected a walk like he was exactly where he was supposed to be as he made his way deeper into the club, just like a good spy.

Operation: "Sneaky Sneak" was going perfectly.

He was entertaining fantasies about getting all the way into Pantu's office and finding records detailing Ozai's whereabouts (while dangling from the ceiling by a rope harness, because it struck him that floors squeaked at the most inconvenient times during infiltrations, and wouldn't that be lots of fun?) when he turned a corner and bounced into a big man who looked like he was born to be professional security and never had any other aspirations for his life. Sadly, the typical wisdom about the lack of wisdom in such people didn't seem to apply here, as the man immediately frowned at Sokka and said, "I don't know you. Let me see your staff token."

Thanks to his fruitful infiltration experience, Sokka knew exactly what to do in this situation, and immediately turned and dashed down another branch of the intersection. He heard the big man giving chase, so he turned another corner and then ducked into a nearest room while he was out of sight. The room wasn't empty, but _even better_, it was full of people who were busy and moving around and not paying attention to anything going on around them. Sokka scooted through the throng and away from the door, managing to work his way over to the far side, where a long set of curtains has been suspended from a line to cut off a slice of the room from view. Sokka glanced back over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the burly guard looking around through all the activity, so Sokka ducked behind the closest curtain and found himself in a little space. What was this, a closet of some kind? Then Sokka looked down and saw the pile of clothes at his feet. Ah, it must be a place to get changed in private, complete with conveniently placed disguise! Sometimes, the universe really did pay him back for all the trouble it otherwise put him through.

Then Sokka saw that what the clothes were, and realized that the universe was a huge jerk after all.

He emerged from behind the curtain a few minutes later, dressed- or rather, _un_dressed- in a set of scraps designed to flaunt the feminine figure that he hoped he was faking convincingly. He passed right by the guard without earning a second glance, although the first was more than disturbing enough with the way it lingered on Sokka's bare shoulders and thighs. (Not that Sokka minded what he felt was a rather absurd compliment under the circumstances, but what kind of an unprofessional guard took a moment out of searching for an infiltrator to ogle the other help?)

Then a call came out of, "Quick, we need you on stage!" and Sokka turned to find someone with an air of importance looking right at him.

Oh, this wouldn't end well.

* * *

Mai chose to ignore the thugs gathered behind her and, through her mask, stared Boss Pantu right in the eyes. "So are the thugs to escort us out, or are you really going to make this worse for yourself?"

Pantu raised an eyebrow. "Worse for _me?_ What can two little girls without weapons possibly do? It's a shame, but people who speak to me of the Fire Lord must be made to disappear."

Mai folded her hands together and leaned forward. "Then you should understand that you've made yourself an enemy." Behind her, Mai heard the heavy inhalation of breath that was usually a prelude to Firebending, and the floor squeaked as the corrupt soldiers shifted into attack stances, but she didn't turn around. She did- because she had a certain sense of style that might someday get her killed- take the time to say, "We'll see ourselves out." Then she smoothly turned to Ty Lee and reached for the carton of rice in her lap.

Or, more specifically, the four chopsticks sticking up out of the colorful grains.

No sooner had she wrapped her fingers around the chopsticks than she was standing up and whipping around. As she spun, she did her little trick: she reached within to the energy that flowed through her body like blood, the energy that Ty Lee was able to disrupt with but a touch when she chose, and willed it to converge into her arms, into her hands, into the chopsticks between her fingers. When she let go, three of the thin wooden projectiles went flying forward with far more speed than the strength of Mai's arms and the momentum of her spin could have produced. They flew with all the power she hoarded within what passed for her heart.

The three chopsticks spread out in a precise pattern, aimed where Mai had heard the attackers moving behind her. Two of the projectiles went hurtling at the soldiers on the right and left, piercing their leather tunics and dragging them to be pinned to the far wall. The men tried to yank free, but the chopsticks had sunk deep into the wall and didn't budge, and the leather was tough enough to resist their strength.

The third chopstick had been aimed at the soldier in the center, and instead of nailing his clothes to anything, the projectile speared the fist that he had been raising in a Firebending punch, cutting off the connection to his element. His breath exploded out of him both from pain and the stifled flow of energy, and Mai left him to once again face Pantu. As expected, the boss was rising- her cat fleeing the scene- with a knife in her hand, but Mai just waited, and as expected Ty Lee's fist came up to intercept Pantu's arm and turn it into so much useless muscle with a precisely aimed arrow-fist. Pantu's hand spasmed from the blow, causing her to drop the knife.

Mai's own hand was there to swipe it out of the air.

Without blinking, she spun to face the last Firebender, still standing with a chopstick piercing his hand, and slammed butt of the knife's handle into his forehead, dropping the him to the ground instantly. Mai quickly glanced around to make sure the other soldiers were still out of the game, then faced Pantu again one last time. She spun the knife into a reverse grip, and raised it with heavy purpose.

She was brought to a halt when Ty Lee grabbed her arm and said, "What are you doing? We need to get out of here before more people come!"

Mai's eyes never left Pantu. "She's loyal to Ozai. We can't take her prisoner, and if we leave her, she'll just make herself into a distraction. I should just kill her now." Letting out a breath that she hadn't known she was holding, she returned her gaze to Ty Lee. "It won't take long."

Ty Lee's grip just tightened in response. "That's not our job! She hasn't seen our faces, and we can make sure word gets to Zuko and Azula about her. Let's just leave! Please!" Ty Lee might have been wearing a mask, but her glistening eyes were perfectly visible.

Mai realized, with some sense of gratitude, that the time had not come to cross that line, yet. "All right, let's get out of here." Mai spun the knife again into a proper grip, and then pulled Ty Lee around the unconscious thug on the floor and back towards the door.

As they fled down the hall, Mai heard the heavy stomping of Pantu's reinforcements.

* * *

Sokka's cry of surprise was high enough in pitch to fool the director who had grabbed his arm. The man was dragging Sokka down a narrow corridor towards a darkness that was either a torture chamber or a performance stage, or possibly both. Every instinct in Sokka's nearly undressed body was telling him to talk his way out of the situation, but fortunately his brain stepped in to push his instincts aside and remind him that while stuffing his socks down a thin chest wrap was apparently enough to fool these people into thinking he was a woman, there was no way he was going to make his voice do the same, whether or not he had some spare socks. However, that would only delay the problem until he was out on stage, at which point he would have to hope that Suki had somehow divined his distress and was ready with a well-timed rescue. But the only disturbance he had caused was with a single guard who hadn't let loose any rampant chaos, so how was she to know?

* * *

Outside in the plaza, Suki was loitering unobtrusively amidst the partying crowed when she heard the unmistakable sounds of battle resonate from the Illuminaries club. She looked up, and saw a guard go flying out of one of the third-story windows, tumbling down the succession of slanted roofs to crash into the crowd.

Festival goers screamed, and began moving away from the newly revealed battle zone.

More noises of fighting were now audible from those top-floor windows, so Suki threw herself into motion, dashing forward just enough to gather some speed and momentum before leaping up above the crowd. Her sandals touched on someone's head, and long before her full weight came down on the unfortunate cranium, Suki pushed off with her legs again, and soon she was skipping from head to head.

* * *

Sokka was shoved out onto the stage, making the haphazardly hanging cloth that was serving him as a something like a skirt flutter in the air, and he found himself standing amongst similarly garbed performers in front of a band. (He noticed that the men were wearing something that, while no more modest, was at least more in line with their gender expression, and once again cursed the universe for not providing him with the right disguise just because he wished it.) Other performers were hopping out onto the stage with a sense of desperation, and Sokka realized that the crowd seemed agitated, murmuring and looking not at the stage, but at the guards who were streaming through the dining room towards a door in an obscure corner.

Where were they going in such a hurry? Were they looking for Sokka?

Then a loud, feminine voice behind Sokka said, "Hey, you ain't a girl! What do'ya think you're trying to pull here, boyo?"

Sokka spun to find one of the other performers glaring at him. She was wearing the same costume he was, but it looked much more natural on her, probably owing to the lack of socks in her chest wrap. Others around them started paying attention, and the band took up a new melody. Sokka gave his best big-eyed pleading smile and said, "I'm a last minute fill-in?"

"...hey, security, we got a bozo guy in a dress with socks stuffed in his wrap!"

Sokka took that as his cue to jump off the stage and dash for the exit. The entertainers grabbed for him, and aside from a brief tearing sound that he didn't worry about at that moment, there was nothing to stop him from escaping. As he dodged around diners and low tables, he caught a glimpse of two of the guards turning to pursue him, so Sokka put on an extra burst of speed that took him through the front door and past a confused bouncer.

He emerged into the plaza, and was surprised to see most of the people screaming and moving away from the club, but since he was headed in the same direction and had guards chasing him, it was all working out. Now, where was Suki? With her help, he'd be able to get rid of his pursers in a delightfully decisive way-

-and why did it feel so breezy?

Running from danger and alone in an enemy land, Sokka looked down to see that he had left his stolen clothes back in the club.

* * *

One moment they were fighting their way out of Boss Pantu's club, stabbing, punching, kicking, tripping, and throwing goons out of windows, which altogether meant Mai was having the time of her life. The next moment, she and Ty Lee jumped out of their own strategically chosen window to find a strangely familiar ninja girl jumping _past_ them to climb _in_ the window they had just vacated, and since when are there traffic jams three stories above the ground outside criminal hideouts? Mai landed on the second story's curved roof, knocking shingles loose, and glanced back in confusion. Then she heard cries of alarm coming from below, and she looked down at the plaza to find a dark-skinned young man streaking- in the both the sense of running very fast and also being sans any clothes- into the fleeing crowd while chased by a pair of the corrupt Home Guard soldiers in Pantu's employ.

That's when it all came together.

The ninja girl was Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.

The young man was Sokka, companion to the Avatar, boyfriend to Suki, and-

-and Mai's friend, after those strange events in Ba Sing Se. Sure, there had been some mutual betrayals, but eventually they came to a working agreement, which went on to involve saving each other's lives, and you couldn't face death (or Azula, same difference) with someone and not consider them something like family afterward. In Mai's case, she even liked Sokka better than some of her family.

She realized, without any sense of surprise, that it was time to save his life again.

She turned to Ty Lee. "Did you recognize the girl?"

"Yup!" The tilt of her head somehow managed to express the smile beneath her mask. "That was the Kyoshi Warrior girl! The leader one! Azula stole her underwear. I'd recognize that fighting style anywhere."

"Good. I'm out of ammunition, so you'll have to go back inside and help her. Tell her that I'm taking care of her partner, get her out of there, and take her to our eelhounds. I'll meet you."

Ty Lee blinked. "What partner?"

Mai didn't bother replying. She jumped off the roof, and literally hit the ground running. Once she emerged from the plaza, into the confused press of people trying to figure out why their festival was being disrupted, she yanked her mask off and began shedding layers of robes. In seconds, she looked like any other pampered teenage girl out to show off her new summer dress, but the thoughts running through her head were unlike those of anyone else on Ember Island.

This was her life, now. Danger, escapes, demanding alliances, clever plans, and a touch of ruthlessness. Her family would be horrified, if they knew she was alive, and Mai tried to take some solace in that.

* * *

It had seemed like a problem with a simple solution. When running from a pair of pursuers through a crowd, simply use the crowd as natural cover. It was like covering yourself in plants while hiding in the jungle, except it was a jungle of people, and Sokka was a people, so it was actually more like a plant hiding in a bunch of other plants. The problem was that all plants were naked, so it was easy for them to blend together. Unlike Sokka, though, the people around him were actually wearing clothes, and that even included the people in obscenely revealing Fire Nation swimsuits. Also, all those people didn't seem to be enjoying Sokka's state of undress any more than he was, so they pulled away from him as he ran past them, making for the very opposite of blending in like a plant amidst plants. Sometimes, it was hard being a special flower.

Obviously, it was time for Operation: "Get Off the Street, You Dummy."

Sokka immediately shifted his erratic trajectory and made for a cluster of colorful tents that were serving as a miniature carnival amidst the larger celebration. Some of them were serving food, and others offered unwinnable games, but all of them would hopefully offer Sokka some cover with their tall peaks and striped fabrics. He swerved around people, ignoring the mix of insults and cheers, and ducked between two of the tents to slip around to their backs.

He found himself in a blessedly empty little space like a back alley, with orange and red and yellow fabrics standing in for walls, and finally stumbled to a halt, panting for breath. That only took somewhere around 83% of his attention, leaving him an easy- well, his brain wasn't feeling so good about math right now, but the leftover attention was enough to look around and scope out further hiding prospects. The lines of tents were big enough to shield him from view of the road, but not so big that he could hide inside one and not trip over whatever was going on inside. He decided that he'd keep moving along the makeshift alley, staying out of sight while he looked for something to wear, and then he could circle back to Pantu's club to meet up Suki. From there, they could make their way to safety and come up with another plan to investigate the boss-

Sokka didn't even have time to finish that thought before the pair of soldiers emerged from between the tents.

Sokka reflexively reached for his boomerang, but then realized the only weapon he had was his was his bare body, and unless these were especially shy guards, it was going to be an uneven fight. "Hey, guys. I don't suppose you'd believe that I'm just a guy who wound up on the wrong side of a really mean prank?"

The soldiers glared at him, and began a simultaneous approach.

Sokka tensed ready for a fight, and then-

-and then a blur of red, white, and black flapped out from around one of the tents right in front of him and resolved itself into a girl. The red was her clothes, a two-piece affair that left the white skin of her midriff and neck bare. The black was a hair-do that Sokka was familiar with, a complicated piling of shiny obsidian that came together to form two odango buns on top and a trailing pair of long tails that hung past her pale face.

Mai stood right in front of Sokka, and raised her hands. Between each of her splayed fingers was- a little painted children's top? They were colored like the tents behind Sokka, and he guessed that they were being sold nearby.

Oh... kay. Why was Mai showing them off?

Then she smirked at him, drew her arms close to her body, and flung them out again towards the soldiers.

Sokka could only keep sight of one at a time, but it was enough. The guy on the left got a top right in the eye, and screamed. The guard on the right had his own scream cut off by another top that actually landed right in his mouth, eliciting a gagging sound that made Sokka swallow in sympathy. There were simultaneous crunches as another pair of tops smacked right into the guards' noses, and then Mai was between the guards, grabbing the one on the right and swinging him to crash into his partner. They collapsed in a heap, groaning and clutching their faces, and didn't try to get up.

Mai turned to Sokka and said, "Hello, lover."

* * *

"Lover?"

It was almost cute, the confused look on his face, and Mai kept her eyes firmly on his face lest she somehow mortify herself by looking... elsewhere. "Well, 'Sokka' isn't exactly a common name in the Fire Nation, and you need something you'll know to respond to." Mai arched an eyebrow. "You're not blundering about with the Avatar anymore; you're working with a professional."

Sokka was still just staring at her. "What?"

"Your persona is Lover. You are my boyfriend, and we are enjoying the Fire Festival. Here, put this on." Mai untied the shawl from around her shoulders, and tossed it to Sokka. "Wrap that around you like a breechcloth, and then lean against me when we get back into the crowd. With me obscuring you, you'll look like you're wearing normal Fire Nation swimming trunks. The baggy look is 'in,' supposedly." Finally, Sokka began moving, dressing himself as she commanded. Mai ran a completely professional eye over him, making sure that the disguise and persona would work, and added, "Also, try not to look anyone in the eyes. Blue eyes might be fine in the colonies, but this is Ember Island. You practically have to have Royal blood _somewhere_ in your ancestry before they'll let you off the boat. And untie that ponytail, it looks weird."

Sokka gave his new skirt one last adjustment. "This kind of reminds of how you ripped off my clothes in that dungeon and gave me all those throwing knives. I don't suppose-"

"I don't have any weapons to give. I feel more naked than you probably do, now." Mai's fingers almost twitched at the memories Sokka was bringing to mind. It had been purely professional, the way she had outfitted him with some of her own hidden knives so that he could escape Azula's captivity and maybe help keep Zuko out of danger.

Sokka pulled the tie out of his hair to let his locks hang freely down the sides of his head. "I don't mean to imply anything, but I just want to be clear, this time. You're not manipulating me in the hopes of accomplishing some insane goal that will just get us all in trouble, are you?"

That almost _hurt._ Mai crossed her arms and give him one of her best Looks. "Your Kyoshi Warrior went into Boss Pantu's club looking for you. I sent Ty Lee to get her out, and we're meeting them at my getaway point, but at this point the club's entire security force is probably out looking for them... and you. I _can_ get you past them, if you stick to your persona. They're looking for one naked guy, not a pair of appropriately dressed teens."

That perked him up. Without hesitation, Sokka stepped over and wrapped an arm around Mai's bare shoulders, pulling her tightly against him. They both set off between two tents not far from the incapacitated guards, and just before they slipped back into the crowd, Sokka whispered, "Sorry. I don't know what you're doing here, but really, _thank you_. You're probably saving my life. Again. I totally owe you a knife, sometime."

Mai put an arm around him, too. "You're welcome, Lover." His skin was unusually warm against her own.

* * *

For Sokka, life on Ember Island was no longer a party. Certainly, it looked like a party, but knowing that people were now looking for him took all the fun out of it. It was almost as bad as the party he attended his first night in Ba Sing Se, where instead of games and singing they had secret police and political corruption, which wasn't the same thing at all. It was all too easy to see the sinister side of the torches lighting up the night, the merchants hawking food and masks and toys and illicit ice cream and more, and the drunk explaining to a horrified young couple that he just needs a few coins to hire a carriage home. Well, okay, that last one wasn't particularly sinister, except for the young couple in question.

"Eyes down, Lover," came Mai's voice at his side. "There's a soldier coming up at the crossroads."

Sokka dutifully lowered his Water Tribe-colored gaze to his feet and leaned even tighter into Mai. "Don't take this as a complaint, but what are you doing here? Kind of risky for you to be back in the Fire Nation, isn't?"

"The risk is what makes it fun. Anyway, General Iroh sent us to follow up on a lead he had on his brother, but we ran into trouble that kept us from getting anywhere. And no, I don't want to talk about it."

"Sure, okay." The soldier was past them now, but Sokka kept his head down, just in case. "So, where are we going?"

"Ty Lee and I have a pair of eelhounds stashed just out of town. They're fast enough, we'll be able to get word to our back-up before Pantu can get off the island. This time next week, Zuko and Azula will hear about her unfortunate run-in with..."

"Pirates," Sokka offered.

"That's good. Pantu's unfortunate encounter with pirates." Mai glanced over at him. "Are you headed back to the South Pole, now?"

"Katara wants to. I'd like to see my Gran-Gran, but then..." He trailed off as a little factoid he had heard, back just before he parted from the army to to go on this wild turkey-goose chase, came to mind. "Aang wants to make sure that the Fire Army leaves the Earth Kingdom without restarting the war or anything profoundly stupid like that. That includes some of the conqueror-governors... like the leadership at Omashu..."

Mai looked up sharply. "My family?"

"Yeah. They're all okay." Sokka shrugged. "I asked. You know, I accidentally kidnapped your brother, so I was kind of interested in making sure that the evil little Fire Nation baby was okay, right? No big deal."

"No big deal." Mai nodded, and they walked on through the night. Sokka didn't take his eyes off of her face, though, and as they passed another torch, he thought he caught the curve of her lips just barely visible in the darkness. "Thanks for the news."

He let it go at that, because that's the way he would want it if he were in Mai's place. Not that having spent part of the evening in a dress was helping to understand the feminine mind; even if there was such a thing as a feminine mind, it was more that Mai in particular happened to think just like he did. They walked together out to the edge of town, where torches and buildings gave way to moonlight and frondy foliage.

And thus Sokka found himself taking a moonlit stroll on the beach with a pretty girl, except it was an Enemy Beach, the girl was a defector from the Fire Nation and just a friend, and they were out on the beach in order to escape an all kinds of people who would see them dead. Eventually, they found some company for themselves. The pair of large, sleek-looking mounts (the presumed eelhounds, and Sokka decided that he absolutely had to have one) were an interesting sight, but Sokka's attention was on the girls who waited beside them. Ty Lee and Suki ran over, and the latter didn't stop until she had thrown her arms around him for an embrace that, thanks to Sokka's state of dress, or lack thereof, was easily as dangerous and thrilling as anything else he had experienced over the last year.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sokka saw Mai step back from him and practically melt into the dark of the night.

It was Suki who spoke first, and it wasn't to Sokka: "Thanks for saving him, Mai." She bowed to the shadow as much as she could while still holding onto Sokka.

"Eh, I owed him one, I think. It's hard to keep track."

Suki's attention returned to Sokka, and she suddenly frowned. "Wait, why are you naked?"

"_Almost_ naked."

"Whatever. How did you lose your clothes spying on a crime boss?"

Then the night spoke in Mai's voice, and it said, "Well, I had already stolen _your_ clothes once. I may as well go for a full set."

There was silence for a moment as Sokka tried to come to grips with Mai deliberately making a joke.

Then he laughed.

* * *

The eelhounds paddled out into the moonlit surf, two tired riders on each animal, cutting through placid waves that glistened like polished metal ingots under the light of the moon and flames...

MAI

as

Ian Fleming's 007

in

_~Trapped in Yu Dao~_  
(search youtube for "Adele Skyfall piano")

It's you again  
Come to join me at the end  
My heart within your ken  
Alone out of all men

Yes it's you again  
On edge of a knife we'll descend  
To the land we condemned  
Bodies forever penned

Trapped in Yu Dao  
Land of metal  
We will join hands  
Face it all together

Trapped in Yu Dao  
Land of metal  
We will join hands  
Face it all together  
In Yu Dao  
Dread Yu Dao

Yu Dao is where we'll fight  
Close your eyes and deny the light  
Just one spark and the flames ignite  
On the day we touched, I learned the cold of fright  
Can I make your love my might?

Trapped in Yu Dao (trapped in Yu Dao)  
Land of metal (land of metal)  
We will join hands (We will join hands)  
Face it all together

Trapped in Yu Dao (trapped in Yu Dao)  
Land of metal (land of metal)  
We will join hands (we will join hands)  
Face it all together  
In Yu Dao

(Trapped in Yu Dao  
Land of metal  
We will join hands)

(Trapped in Yu Dao  
Land of metal  
We will join hands)

What kills you kills me  
If you rise I rise  
The world has turned us to spies  
To stab and kill with our lies  
Will it use us up?  
Will we drink this cup?  
Will they make us bleed  
For their greed?

Trapped in Yu Dao (trapped in Yu Dao)  
Land of metal (land of metal)  
We will join hands (we will join hands)  
Face it all together

Trapped in Yu Dao (trapped in Yu Dao)  
Land of metal (land of metal)  
We will join hands (we will join hands)  
Face it all together  
In Yu Dao

Trapped in Yu Dao  
We will join hands  
In Yu Dao  
Oh...

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. His Tea-Loving Kookiness' Secret Service

**On His Tea-Loving Kookiness' Secret Service**

_Ba Sing Se_  
_Late Summer_  
_1 Year After Sozin's Comet_

A week ago, Mai had been fighting for her life against a would-be heir to Chin the Conqueror aboard a ship mounted with a heat ray made from mirrors and diamonds, doing her best to put an end to the rampant delusion of grandeur before they were within attack range of Ba Sing Se's Full Moon Bay.

It had been very tiring and messy.

Now, Mai was lounging at a card table in Ba Sing Se's Royal Casino (and Hotel), dressed in silks worthy of the Earth King himself, not the least for their green color, and contemplating nothing more pressing than the hand of Destiny cards she had been dealt. This was not a particularly tiring activity, but she found herself fighting off a yawn, regardless.

She yawned a lot in Ba Sing Se. Since she spent all of her time between missions in the nominally Impenetrable City, this meant that her only hobby was, in fact, yawning. She found this almost as depressing as the cards in her grasp.

At least she could do something about the cards. She pretended to pay attention to the people around here, and their inane conversations, while she used a few deft finger movements her uncle had taught her to prepare a more favorable hand up her sleeve. The others were speaking of the usual local gossip ("And him being a family man! What his children will think when they find out about his haiku, I don't know."), some banter ("Well, it's not like you've ever been luckier at cards then you have with women! _Ow_, hey, watch the shoulder."), and even a little politics ("We should never have bothered with the Harmony Restoration Movement. Why wait to get our ancestral lands back when the Avatar's power could have just driven those Fire barbarians off in one campaign?").

Mai almost snickered at the word 'barbarian.' She had once used it herself when talking about the people born outside the Fire Nation, but had by now traveled too much and too far to understand it as anything more than an insulting synonym for 'foreigner.' She didn't feel guilty for cheating- these people wouldn't miss the money, it was 'stuff' to them- but knowing that they were the type to call people barbarians made it an outright pleasure.

Mai laid her cards out on the table. "Positive sixteen. I win."

The others groaned, and the dealer moved stacks of coins to Mai's side of the table. Her uncle would be proud, if he could see her. He, and the rest of her family, were back in the Fire Nation, blissfully unaware that their heiress was a traitor. But then, that was probably a good thing; mother would have just died, seeing her daughter dive off an exploding boat with her hair all messed up.

The dealer was reshuffling the deck when another servant slid up behind Mai and whispered, "There is a young lady to see you in the lobby. She bears an invitation for tea at the Jasmine Dragon."

Mai's fatigue instantly dried up and blew away. "Finally. Something to _do_."

* * *

Out in the lobby, Mai found a woman her own age beaming at her like the sun itself, if the sun had favored pigtails and a waitressing apron. "Jin. Please tell me the entire world is in danger."

Jin nodded. "Iroh sent me to invite you to take tea with him. A private meeting."

"Yes, because a discussion about an absurd danger to the fate of the entire world is never complete without tea." She immediately led Jin out of Royal Casino (and Hotel) into the muggy evening air, never once looking back. She didn't even need to pack; the only thing she valued- her knives- were always with her.

The walk to the Jasmine Dragon did not take long, another reason why Mai had chosen to live at the casino resort. It was just a stroll down the lane to the popular tea shop, and the only obstacles on the way were slow-moving pedestrians, out to enjoy the wealth and beauty of their isolated little neighborhood's night life. Mai blended in all too well, here, even better than a common Earth Kingdom native like Jin. Mai's face had the sharp features favored in the Fire Nation's Classic era, but when she put on green and didn't suppress the lazily graceful stride that had been drilled into her as a child, she blended distressingly well with the people of the Upper Ring. That was what made her so valuable to the White Lotus.

Spies and assassins tended to be of low birth, and it was an extra investment to teach such people to brush their hair a hundred times every day, besides all the spycraft.

When they reached the Jasmine Dragon, both girls passed quickly around the edge of the main dining and into the back rooms. Jin's fellow employees made no move to stop them, and even kept their eyes averted so that they could truthfully say they had seen nothing of the visit. Their destination was a particular room on the first floor, a long open space where the walls had been turned into intricate shelving units, and tea service sets from all over the world were on display. As they entered the little museum, Jin waggled her eyebrows at Mai. "Iroh says that you might find the set from the Itoku era interesting."

Mai sighed. "Jin, I know which one activates the door. I _have_ done this before."

"Aw, but I enjoy this sneaky stuff."

"Yes, I expect that you do." Mai reached out for one of the teacups in the Itoku set, and twisted it carefully. The gears built into the shelf beneath it resisted slightly, and then yielded with a click. There was a quiet scraping sound, and Mai turned to watch the secret passage in the floor slide open to reveal a set of steps. "After you."

* * *

Grand Lotus Iroh's underground office was both the fanciest and most cluttered space in the entire Jasmine Dragon. Tea service sets, a shrine to the Agni Warrior, dragon statues, various maps, a Pai Sho table, more tea service sets, a jian in a jeweled sheath, a model of an old Fire Nation battleship, _more_ tea service sets, and a dozen half-melted candles were scattered around in a manner that Mai would have sworn was complete chaos, and yet somehow came together to make for a feeling of order and serenity.

The tea that Jin brought in through the leather-covered door was pretty good, too. The waitress bent over the low table where Iroh and Mai were both kneeling and poured for each of them before scurrying back, never quite displaying the grace Mai had grown up expecting in servants. But then, Jin wasn't devoid of personality, so it all balanced out. Mai inhaled the steam from her cup and said, "I was glad to hear that you have a mission for me. I was so bored, I was thinking of running away and joining the circus."

Iroh took a sip from his own cup before answering. "Destiny- and I- have selected you to save the world. Again."

Mai drank from her own cup, not because she was thirsty, but because she was being served tea and it was expected of her. "And what am I saving it from this time? Another rogue general? A wealthy nutcase with dangerous toys? Unimaginative romance stories?"

Iroh put his tea down and crossed his hands over his belly. "It's time for you to save the world from the Fire Nation." Mai set her teacup down as quickly as possible and stared at Iroh with the sharpness of a blade, but he didn't so much as cringe. He simply said, "Do you know of Yu Dao?"

"That's a colony, isn't it? Rich. They make something special there?"

Iroh nodded. "Metal, actually. You Dao is one of the oldest of the colonies, and quite well-regarded for the quality of the weapons and armor produced by the city's smiths. The Earth Kingdom people who lived there already had access to excellent mining opportunities and metals of rare quality, and after the Fire Nation conquered it, our people shared the secrets of our most advanced forging techniques. Those were then further advanced by the skilled craftsmen who worked there. It is a perfect story of how the ways of two nations can come together to create something greater than the mere sum of their strengths."

Mai snorted. As a well-manufactured product of the Fire Nation herself, and a defector who had been working at the edges of the civilized world, she found it a familiar story. "Meanwhile, the ways in which the people in green are exploited by the people in red is lost in the sound of all that jingling money, right? Don't tell me that you want me to do something about that. I'm not the Avatar, I just throw knives."

"A very astute summary of the culture there, but no, I don't expect you to address that problem. It is hoped that when the city is returned to Earth Kingdom control, something might be done to bring balance to society there."

"And when is that supposed to happen?" Mai looked up at one of the map hangings on the walls, one that showed the Fire Nation colonies in detail. She quickly found the large dot labeled as Yu Dao, and did some quick calculations based on its geographic location and the established schedule of the so-called Harmony Restoration Movement. "It should be sometime soon, correct?"

"It was supposed to happen last week. Except my nephew has brought an army, locked down the city, and is refusing to let the Earth Kingdom resume control. That is what requires your unique skills."

Mai snapped her gaze back to Iroh. "_Zuko?_ He knows what the deal is supposed to be."

Iroh nodded sadly. "When I brokered the return of the captured Fire Nation territory for the exchange of the colonies, I truly thought Zuko believed in what we were doing, and up until now, the Harmony Restoration Movement was everything we had hoped. Did you know that Zuko has even been helping us track down Ozai?"

Mai did, but even a year later, she still didn't like thinking about her not-quite-success on Ember Island, so she ignored the question. "Then what's he doing now?"

"That is the question, my dear. He and Azula must know that this move could reignite the war. Perhaps they feel that their control of the Fire Nation is too tenuous to give up a prize like Yu Dao. Zuko could be attempting to show that the strength of two Fire Regents is no less than that of a Fire Lord. But if so, it is a foolish demonstration. I would tell him that myself, but my letters have been refused, and no one is being allowed through the gates at all. I need to put an agent in play to determine what is going on, and if necessary to take steps to settle the situation."

Despite the warm tea she had just drunk, Mai felt a little chill go up her spine. "Take steps?"

Iroh leaned forward, and looked at her with eyes that reminded her of her baby brother's. "Mai, I am very proud of you, of the work you have done for me. You value loyalty to your friends above all else, and you care much more than you let on. This situation... it could ruin everything we've worked for. Zuko and Avatar Aang would once again be fighting, perhaps to the death."

Mai pondered the child she with whom she had grown up, and the stupidly honorable young man who left her behind in Ba Sing Se. "Maybe Azula has gotten to him?" She wasn't sure if she hoped for or dreaded the possibility.

"There are many ways she might have, and I can't bear to imagine them, but I'm not sure how Azula would benefit from this. The Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation are on the verge of war, but this time the Earth Kingdom has the strength to strike directly at the Homeland, even as the Fire Nation rampages here. And the Avatar has been master of his own power for a year now, and I have no doubt that he would take the fight directly to Azula." Iroh shook his head. "And I fear that Ozai would almost certainly take advantage of the chaos, in his own awful ways. This will be a disaster for everyone."

Mai looked him in the eyes. "Disaster enough to make Zuko your enemy?"

Iroh's eyes and face went still. "Zuko... is more than mere family to me. I want him to make the right choice."

"Maybe you should clarify that for me."

Iroh closed his eyes and sighed before continuing. "I know you care for him, too, in your own way. But for his own good, for the Fire Nation's good, I must send you out in opposition to both. You must investigate the situation, and find a solution that will save us all from war. I cannot tell you have to do this, but it is because of the mysterious nature of the task that I specifically select you. I am sorry."

Having gotten that out, Iroh practically deflated where he knelt. Jin stepped over to take away the empty teapot and cups, and when Mai glanced over at the girl, she was met with glistening eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears. Mai knew that Jin and Zuko had formed a... something while he was living undercover in Ba Sing Se, and she couldn't help but be reminded of her own girlhood crush on the boy- a crush that had gone to sleep after he was exiled from the Fire Nation, and then had taken a beating in this very city when he chose to return home in Azula's company. However, Mai wasn't brokenhearted, and couldn't care less about avenging herself against Zuko or anything stupid like that. Even if she returned to the Fire Nation, her preference would be to simply avoid Zuko for the rest of her life, so that they didn't have to be enemies.

But it was past the time for hypotheticals.

Despite her ill feelings, Mai couldn't deny that she was starting to feel more _alive_. Danger, choices, friends who might be enemies, actions that she might regret later...

That was her life, now. It made her heart beat and her blood sing, even while it might kill her.

"I forgive you," Mai said. "But why exactly did you pick me?"

"For the same reason I've been happy to employ you. You are one of the deadliest people alive, hand-chosen by Azula herself. However, as you showed in Ba Sing Se, on Ember Island, in Chang Suo, under Castle Difang, and above the Valley of Wei... you know when _not_ to fight. That is the most important responsibility of my secret service, and they key to this mission."

"You're risking the fate of the entire world on my _judgement?_" Mai snorted. "You're either crazy or a genius. I'll take the mission."

Iroh bowed to her. "Good. The Mechanist has some equipment for you, and by the time you're done there I'll have assembled some important reading material for your trip." He finished the last of his tea, and used the cup to give Mai a little salute. "May destiny be with you, Agent Mai."

* * *

Mai had a knack for not thinking about what she didn't like, and so she completely forgot the name of Zuko as she went down the hall to the Quartermaster. It wasn't far from Iroh's office to the labs where the Mechanist outfitted their White Lotus agents; the secret underground base below the Jasmine Dragon wasn't _that_ big, as far as secret underground bases went. (Sometimes, Mai boggled at the thought that she actually had multiple points of comparison for such things.)

"Ah, Agent Mai. Welcome!" The Mechanist grinned at her from beneath his bushy beard and mustache.

Mai didn't know what his true name was, just that he was an outside contractor with the best toys in the world. Also, he was slightly crazy. His eyebrows were growing in splotches from being burned off- _again_- and today he sported a stain on the skin of his forehead in a color that Mai was pretty sure didn't occur in nature. "Grand Lotus Iroh said that you had some things for me?"

"Ooh, yes indeedy! General Iroh said you'd be out of contact for the duration of this mission, so I put together a versatile set of tools for you." He waved her along deeper into the room, past the shelving units, around a pile of rice hats with spikes sticking out from the brims. He made a right at an unholy metal contraption that seemed to be nothing more than a few metal bars welded together between two thin wheels, supporting a small seat, with pedals sticking out near the bottom. He ducked under a giant metal suit suspended from the ceiling, featuring a giant helmet with a circular window in the front instead of an opening, and then came to a worktable. "First, of course, are the blade throwers. The boys in the lab are quite pleased with this set. We've produced a new set of pouches for you, made from a material we've discovered that's thinner and lighter than leather. We've managed to fit more blades in, too, and rearranged the construction to accommodate a wider variety of... um, sharp things."

The Mechanist handed Mai the harnesses, and she had to give a nod of approval. More weapons was never a bad thing, and this set-up looked like it wouldn't bunch up her underwear the way he old set did. It was the small victories, in this line of work.

Next, the Mechanist reached down to the floor and brought up a pair of boots that looked like the kind Mai favored for combat. "Yes," he said, "just like the real things. We used our own enhanced padding to make room in the sole for a _surprise._ Just put pressure on the rear of the heel, like so." He demonstrated with one, there was a quiet click, and then a short stiletto knife shot out of the boot from just beneath the toe. Mai turned to find it quivering in a column behind her, the blade half-buried.

Mai's eyebrows rose. "A joke occurs to me concerning the term 'stiletto heel.' We will not be making that joke." She took the other boot and looked inside. "How likely am I to lean the wrong way and accidentally become a danger to every toe in front of me?"

"We've done plenty of testing, and the last few models have produced no more missing toes."

Mai pointed the toe at the Mechanist, and dropped the boot.

There was a cringe, a noise, and when the dust cleared, there were indeed no more missing toes. Mai nodded her approval.

The Mechanist cleared his throat artificially, and Mai looked up to see him holding a short tube that she recognized as something similar to the bolt-launching wrist cuffs she liked to wear. "We've rebuilt your usual cuffs from the ground up. The old ones were quite good, for old Fire Nation technology, but things have taken significant leaps since your childhood. The new cuffs have increased tension in the launchers for greater range and power, and they're modular, now. You can swap in components for your usual bolt-launchers, but now we're giving you two more options. One will turn your cuff into a wrist-mounted crossbow that can fold up for easy concealment, and can fire larger bolts with more stopping power. The other option is what we're really excited about, a blade-thrower."

He snapped several pieces into the cuff, and held it up for examination. "It throws these crescent-shaped blades, spinning them for greater distance, of course. We've fitted fifty of them into each cuff, and they can be reloaded individually or as a set." The Mechanist pressed an almost invisible button on the contraption, and a small rectangular compartment popped open. "In here, you can load cartridges containing liquids. Anything watery enough- soporifics, poisons, or even some paints- can be poured into the cartridge, and when the cuff fires each blade, it will coat the edge with some of the liquid. I've taken the liberty of preloading a tranquilizer made from shirshu venom that will drop even a heavy man in a second. See, just point it like so and- _oops!_" A pair of wooden fingers clattered to the floor. "Oh, I was holding it the wrong way. _This_ is the side the blades come out of."

Mai pulled the cuff out of his three-fifths of his hand, and couldn't help but smile for the first time in days. Without hesitation, she snapped the device on her arm, spun around while giving her wrist a discreet flex, and launched a flurry of crescent-moon blades into the air to land in a nearby dummy wearing a Dai Li robe. "I _like_ this."

She turned to see the Mechanist's reaction, and found him frozen. "That was the test dummy for the exploding belt. Please be careful what you-"

The dummy exploded.

When her hair tails settled back down from the force of the blast and Mai was able to blink again, she gave a small bow to her host. "More careful, you said? I think I can manage that." She looked back at the dummy, which was now two dummy halves and quite a bit of Dai Li robe-colored confetti. "Also, I am _never_ wearing one of those."

The Mechanist nodded, and straightened his apron. "Um, speaking of explosives, we've finally perfected my next combustion medium." He pulled a squat lidded jar from one of the nearby shelves and placed it on the table. "What do you think?"

Mai peered down at the jar. It didn't _look_ explosive, but anything the Mechanist made was probably capable of blowing up in some manner or another. She sniffed over the jar, but it had no scent. She gave it a poke, and it had the smooth texture of local stone, not the slightly squishy feel of the combustable clays that were the Earth Kingdom answer to the Fire Nation's blasting jelly. Next, she opened the lid, and peered inside. It was filled with little white crystals, odorless and not especially dangerous in appearance. Finally, she took a pinch and placed it on her tongue. "Salt?"

"Or so it seems!" The Mechanist chuckled and plucked the jar off the table. "The jar looks like a single piece, but the components are merely fitted together as tightly as an Earthbender can get them! Here, grip the bottom and then twist the top. If you twist it one way, it activates the detonator. Twist it to the left, and the secret fuel compartment will open."

The jar was plopped in Mai's hands, and she resisted the urge to throw it across the room. "The safe twist is to the left?"

"Right."

"Twist it to the right?" She gripped the top and-

"No! Not right! Left!"

Mai glared at him. "For an engineer, you don't use very precise language." She twisted the top of the jar to the _left_, and felt something pop out of place in her palm. She turned the jar upside down, and found that the bottom had come free from the rest, revealing a second compartment filled with... peanuts? "Peanuts?"

"Perfectly common, perfectly safe to eat. You can restock with peanuts from any market in the world. But! When you fill the compartment with the tasty little pods, and twist to the _right_, you'll activate a miniature flare. It will provide heat that will activate the peanut-fueled explosive mechanism, and then in exactly _four_ seconds, the jar will detonate. There's enough force to break stone, and it will also splatter peanut oil around, hot enough to ignite any flammable materials."

Mai clicked the underside back into place and hefted the jar up and down, testing the weight. It was fairly light and curved areodynamically, which she knew from experience would allow her to throw it with nigh-deadly skill; it had been an interesting adventure, that time she saved the world with a thrown (empty) chamberpot, and she even managed to recover it as a gift for the local King. "I should be behind cover when I use it, then. Good to know."

"Oh yes, you definitely don't be around when it goes off. But if you let the remnants cool, you'll have some perfectly edible if slightly salty peanut butter that can serve as emergency rations. We strive for versatility in my labs!"

Mai was very good at controlling her face, but she still almost let her disgust show.

The Mechanist then brought out a device not unlike a crossbow. "This, you know about, it's the standard grapple device, with built-in controls and calculator. And for your last piece of equipment, something a bit more straightforward." From a shelf off to the side, he retrieved what was clearly a small sword- a little shorter than Mai's arm- and some kind of sheath. "This blade comes from Piandao's forges. Very hard, very solid. It's one of the few cutting edges ever made that can scratch Yu Dao steel, and even stab through the thinner armors they make there. This sheath comes with a versatile set of straps, so you can either wear it openly in a variety of positions, or under the cover of your clothes. It's very sharp, but takes a while to resharpen. Don't pick your teeth with it."

You show off _one_ time...

Mai accepted the blade by the handle, took a stance, and tried a few experimental thrusts before spinning it around into a reverse grip. It was well-balanced, like everything that Piandao's people made, and the perfect size for her. Since a rather embarrassing incident in Ba Sing Se when she had been forced to fight without her knives, Mai had been training in both unarmed combat forms and the basics of various other weapons. Using this sword would be well within her experience. "Well done. Tell the boys in the lab that I'm quite impressed with everything."

"Yes. About that." The Mechanist cleared his throat, and clasped his hands (one full hand, and one three-fifths of a hand) together. "_Do_ try to bring everything back in one piece, this time. You're always a bit hard on the equipment, and we're still quite puzzled how you managed to crash that self-propelling carriage last time, given your report."

Mai smirked and plunged the sword into its sheath. "No promises, Quartermaster. You never know what could happen out there in the world, and if it comes down to a choice between my fingers and the equipment, I like my fingers where they are." She glanced down at the wooden fingers on the floor. "Um, no offense."

* * *

_Su Oku River_  
_Late Summer_  
_1 Year After Sozin's Comet_

Mai's first stop was the Su Oku River spa, an entire village devoted to the trade of pleasure for money. It had once served the Fire Nation exclusively, back when it had been one of the colonies, but the Harmony Restoration Movement had passed the hot springs and massage parlors back to Earth Kingdom control, and already things had changed. The facilities had been expanded to include _culture_- theaters, concert halls, an Earthball arena, and even an opera house.

The new streets (created with Earthbending, of course) were full of fancy carriages and bizarre mounts, but Mai's eelhound outmaneuvered and outpaced them all. She swerved around everything in her way, finally cutting off a carriage drawn by ostrich horses to pull into a stable-house near the opera house. As soon as the eelhound came to a stop and lowered itself to the ground, a muscular boy with no spark of intelligence in his eyes came up to grab the harness. "Welcome, milady. How can we serve you?"

"Feed and water it. I'm just here for one of the shows." Mai flipped a coin to him with the same precision she applied to her throwing knives.

The meathead caught it easily and grinned at her. "It's a lovely beast. But I suppose that's only appropriate for such a lovely lady."

Mai returned the compliment with a minimal smile that didn't come close to her eyes, and then walked off to the main resort. She didn't care what meatheads thought of her, but part of being invisible was pretending to be like everyone else.

Her tickets were waiting at the front desk of the opera house, and soon she was seated in the private viewing box owned by the White Lotus. Mai supposed that some local member used the box for his own pleasure most of the time, but it was also a handy place for the organization's new order of field agents to meet up away from spying eyes. The performance started, and it was another five minutes before Mai's contact arrived.

"Hi, Mai. Sorry I'm late."

"All you missed is more of this screechy Earth Kingdom opera. Hello, Suki."

"It's good to see you. How's Ty Lee doing?"

Mai sighed. "Still quite happy at the circus, according to her last letter. But that letter came in the Spring, so in theory, she could be suffering or dead by now."

"That's what I love about you. You're so cheerful. Give her my regards, when you get a chance."

The singer up on the stage launched into an even higher pitch of screeching, and Mai responded by firmly turning her attention to business. "So, what have you heard about the situation?"

"Everything about Yu Dao itself, and that Zuko seems to have lost his mind. Maybe there's a plague? Zuko could be trying to contain it. In a stupid kind of way."

"Well, he _is_ kind of stupid." Mai pulled a small blade out of her sleeve and began twirling it around her fingers while she delivered the extra information that Iroh had provided. "The Earth King is, naturally, not responding well to the situation. He demanded that Zuko stop whatever it is he thinks he's doing, and in response got a letter from the _other_ Fire Regent. Azula wants to meet for discussions about 'concerns regarding unforeseen difficulties with the Harmony Restoration Movement.' No further explanations were forthcoming, so Kuei decided to make like his bear and go on a rampage. He's raised an army and is marching it to Yu Dao to forcibly remove Zuko. That's my deadline for solving the problem before we're all back at war with each other."

Suki nodded. "And what does Iroh want the Kyoshi Warriors to do? He didn't ask us out here to throw ourselves at the Earth King's legions."

"If you think that would actually work, then you have my permission to try. But no, Iroh has another job for you. Avatar Aang has decided to take up Azula on her offer. He would rather settle this without armies, obviously, and with the Avatar State he probably wouldn't even need one. It's really his only way to help the situation, since Kuei isn't listening to him and Azula's letter also claimed that any sighting of the Avatar- or even Appa- near Yu Dao will mean war." Mai indulged in another sigh. "Is it just me, or is everyone really quick to toss that word around? Didn't we just finish a war? Why hurry back to it?"

Suki nodded. "I thought it was finally time for me and my warriors to go back home, but we can't stand by while things fall apart again. I take it that Iroh wants us to guard Aang during the negotiations?"

"Exactly. Azula's ploy may just be a way of drawing Aang off and taking him out, and Iroh wants someone out there who he can trust. The White Lotus doesn't have any other agents it can recall for that kind of duty, and I'm going to be busy with... more urgent matters."

Suki looked over, and even in the dark theater, Mai could make out a smile on her face. "If you're going to Yu Dao, you know who you're probably going to run into, don't you?"

Mai suppressed her own urge to smile. "You think Sokka will be there."

"Well, he's basically working as Aang's answer to the White Lotus' secret service, these days. He's probably already on his way to Yu Dao." Suki paused, and the smile dropped from her face. "We cared for each other, but that's why I- why we had to break up. I... the Kyoshi Warriors will always help when called, but our home is Kyoshi Island. That's where I want to stay, when I can. But Sokka couldn't just settle down. He needs to be out there... _changing_ things. Either as a leader, or an inventor, or Aang's spy. I don't think he'll even go back to the South Pole, except for visits. He needs to keep moving." She looked over to Mai. "Kind of like you."

"Maybe, at one time." Mai stopped twirling her knife and put it back in her sleeve. "The job itself is my kind of fun, but lately I've been thinking... I used to have friends. Yeah, I know, you're my friend. And there's Ty Lee. And for some reason Aang and Katara were all kinds of huggy the last time I saw them. But my work keeps me away from all of you, most of the time, and my ideal life is not living on the back of a Sky Bison." She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. "I have some things to figure out, but first I need to go smack Zuko."

Suki reached out and laid a hand on Mai's shoulder. "If you need some space for thinking, Kyoshi Island is always open to you. You may have captured us for the Fire Nation, but you saved my life a few times after that, so I'll have my Warriors keep the hazing down to a minimum."

"You're too kind." Mai smirked at the other woman, rose from her seat, and bowed. "Feel free to enjoy the rest of the show, if you can stand the screeching, but I'm on a deadline. Don't let Azula take your clothes again."

"This time, maybe I'll steal _her_ clothes, if it won't start another war. I'd offer to pass on your love, but you're still dead." Suki stood as well, and bowed back to Mai. "Kyoshi's Luck go with you, Ghost Sister."

* * *

_Mountains of Yu Dao_  
_Late Summer_  
_1 Year After Sozin's Comet_

Even the extreme terrain around Yu Dao didn't inconvenience an eelhound. Long, powerful, and low to the ground, it went up and down the quite frankly ridiculously tall rock spires without any trouble. Mai wound up practically dangling from her saddle at a few points, but she didn't have much else to do on the trip besides _hang around._

Ugh. Puns. Sokka was clearly on her mind, and not in a good way.

On the approach to Yu Dao itself, Mai made sure to stop at the top of a particularly high cliff overlooking the whole valley. She was able to see everything relevant from the vantage point- the roofs of the buildings that made up Yu Dao, the siege walls that otherwise blocked the view of the city, the angry mobs of Earth Kingdom zealots camped around bonfires outside those walls, the entrances to the mines (lead, copper, iron, electrum, and aluminum, according to the papers Iroh had given Mai before she left) further up the path into the mountains, and of course an encampment of Fire Nation soldiers between the protesters and the siege walls who glared with far too much hostility at everything that came near them.

Mai had very good vision, to pick up such details, but she liked to think that was part of her charm.

She knew from experience that the eelhound would be fine on its own. It had a good nose for water and top-notch hunting instincts, and it could hear Mai's summoning whistle from an impressive and helpful distance. It didn't fly, but its eelskin exterior made for much less maintenance than a sky bison, and Mai liked to think that it was far more suave. Leaving the beast with one last barely affectionate pat, Mai moved down the path towards the protestor encampments. She wore her full set of knives, and a flowing set of robes in black and green that would let her deploy her full arsenal without delay. A small bag with her other supplies was tied tightly to her back, like the child she figured she would never have. Mai was as ready as she could be, barring the sudden arrival of a circus acrobat who could screen against close-range combat.

No one noticed when she appeared amidst the protesters. They tried to chase away the darkness with bonfires, but even Flame could only do so much against Darkness. Mai moved at the edges of the light, a shadow in the night, a flicker of motion that was gone before anyone realized it was there. She walked from the outer rings of the loose network of camps towards Yu Dao itself, her mind working the whole time. She identified where the Fire Nation soldiers were situated, watched how they patrolled, observed how close they allowed protestors to draw before warning them away.

Mai was so busy being so very professional that she could almost forgive herself for not noticing where Sokka came from.

He emerged out of a cluster of campers not far from her. He was wearing a green tunic that was a size too small for him and looked all too authentically grimy, and making his way towards the city just like Mai but without the whole ghost-like sneaking thing. He was staring up the path at Yu Dao, and Mai thought it just as likely that he was doing professional analysis as he was just ruminating on something pointless.

Mai gave a small smile. She moved close to him, as silently as ever, and opened her mouth to deliver the cleverest greeting that humanity would ever produce in its entire history. Then Sokka moved, bumped right into Mai, bounced off her like she was made of steel (the impact was no brush with a monkey-feather for her, either), and nearly tumbled to the dirt before Mai reached out and caught him.

His eyes found hers, and he broke out into a wide grin. "Well, hello, Lover."

He must have been looking for an opportunity to say that ever since Ember Island. Mai kept her face blank and drawled, "Oh, now I'm 'Lover?' " Her earlier conversation with the other half of the old romantic pairing came to mind, and Mai decided to make a certain strategic move. "How does Suki feel about that?"

She observed the reaction very carefully. Sokka's face was quite expressive, unless he was occupied with some intricate thought, but right now it was all blank innocence. With a shrug, he said, "We went our separate ways." His eyes narrowed a bit. "Last I heard, she was actually working for Iroh as a guard. I figure you've probably seen her more recently than me."

Did Sokka specifically know that Mai had just come from seeing Suki? No, Sokka wasn't that devious with his friends. Mai wondered if perhaps she should keep her deviousness to her job, as well.

Sokka turned back to Yu Dao and casually draped an arm around Mai's shoulder, just like he had back on Ember Island. Apparently, it was the old Couple Gambit again. "So, _my_ mission is to somehow get into that city and get the real deal on the situation. You?"

"The same, more or less. Iroh hasn't heard from Zuko in a while, and wants to know what the moron thinks he's doing."

Sokka nodded. "Might as well work together, then."

This was her last opportunity to go it alone, so Mai went ahead and said, "Might as well."

"Do you have weapons?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're good. But one more can't hurt." Sokka reached to his belt, and pulled out one of those whalebone knives his people valued so much. Mai wasn't big on things that used to be part of dead animals, not without plenty of processing, but she had become familiar with Sokka's Water Tribe weapons over the course of their team-ups, and had nothing but respect for their craftsmanship. He held the weapon out to her handle-first.

"Thanks." She took it, and couldn't help but admire how solid it was. How dependable and unchanging, unlike herself. "So, shall we?"

"Let's 'shall,' Lover."

Mai snorted with amusement. "So if we're doing the Couple Gambit, you think we can sneak in. That small army of Fire Nation soldiers would probably disagree."

"True. But we're not going to ask their opinion. We're going to walk right up to them, dazzle them with our clever story about how we're natives of Yu Dao who were away on a business trip- which will seem authentic because you look Fire Nationy and I don't look like anything most Firebenders have ever seen- and when they give us trouble you'll break out into tears and maybe imply that you're 'with child' and I'll get all angry in a blustery way and they'll be so overwhelmed that they'll let us through, no problem."

* * *

Half an hour later, they were standing in a cage, and Sokka could feel Mai's eyes boring into him like a Giant Drill of Destiny into an over-hyped protective wall. It wasn't even close to a pleasant feeling. Mai had been forced to save his life a number of times now, and a part of Sokka, one that could be deeply repressed but never entirely destroyed, hated looking weak in front of women.

Especially this woman.

"Well, that's a good learning opportunity," he said. "Next time we come up with a good reason why we don't have our passports ahead of time."

Mai sighed. "Or we just forge a set." Her voice lightened a bit as she continued, "Actually, that's something I can mention to Iroh- blank passports that can be completed in the field."

The idea intrigued Sokka. "Hm, maybe we can make a kit with papers, stamps, brushes, and everything you need to make a variety of passports, or else if we want to keep it simple, we can carry a set of premade papers that just need a name filled in." He was tempted to continue along that line of thought, but he sadly had more pressing concerns, namely the cage that currently existed in a depressing 'around' state of being. "Where did they get this cage, anyway?"

Mai sighed again. "This is a Mark 2 instant-deploy imprisoning unit. Fire Army divisions carry a stack of these in with the rest of their equipment, and it looks like a bunch of giant metal chopsticks laid across each other to form a grid. You put it on the ground, fold the bars up until they click, and you have a prison cell that you can set up anywhere, like just outside an illegally occupied city."

Sokka nodded. "This experience is _full_ of interesting ideas." And it was. The unfriendly soldiers who had arrested him and Mai had dragged them around the corner of the siege wall, out of sight of the encamped protestors, and stuck them in this cage until a Commander or Captain or someone of sufficiently intimidating rank could be bothered to come sort out the situation. Sokka figured he had one chance to salvage things. "So, it shouldn't be hard to get out of this. There's no roof on this cage, and the bars are tall, but if you let me sit on your shoulders for a bit, I think I can get a high grip on these bars in the corner, and swing myself up over the tops of them."

"They're sharp on top, you realize?" Mai's face remained completely blank as she delivered the advice.

"That's... helpful to know. I'll have to make it a very good swing, then, but the plan should still work. Then, once I'm out, I can try smashing the lock with a rock, and you can escape, and then we'll find another way into the city. Somehow." Saying the plan out loud seemed to make it less impressive, so Sokka backed his words up with helpful hand motions.

Mai left him hanging for a moment before she finally replied. "Or we could use the grapple launcher I have wrapped in some clothes in the bag the stupid soldiers didn't think to take from me."

"And that's a good plan, too!" Sokka made a motion that Water Tribe hunters used to symbolize victory. "See, this is teamwork we're doing. We're working great so far."

Mai sighed for the third time. Sokka's stomach started hurting.

At least she shifted her attention to her bag. She quickly produced a device that looked a lot like a crossbow, but instead of an arrow, a giant metal hook could be loaded in as ammo. Mai extended two support 'legs' from the front, and then placed it on the ground with the butt of the weapon providing the rear support. She fiddled with some switches and twisty-knobs on the side, and eventually said, "Okay, I've set it to shoot the grapple high up over the bars, and into the city. I'm straining the power on this thing, but we're close enough to the siege wall to hit the roofs of the buildings just on the other side. Then we climb, and the stupid soldiers come back to find their stupid cage empty."

Sokka nodded. This was why Mai was a professional, and Sokka was just... the guy who found ways to help the Avatar. She probably had every step of her whole mission planned out, and it would work out exactly how she expected. When Sokka planned, things always went wrong, and now that he was trying to be flexible, he got himself arrested at the very beginning. "Look," he found himself saying, "I'm not really a great climber. I'd probably make too much noise and someone would come to see what's going on. You go on, I'll cover for you here."

Mai snapped her gaze over to him, and her eyes were practically throwing daggers all on their own. "Shut up. You're a great climber; that story you told me about the Spirit Library had you climbing in and out by a rope, just like this. And I've already decided that I want you with me on this, so don't make me have to figure out my entire life all over again." She bent over, squeezed something on her grapple device, and it fired its payload with a sound like a bison cough. "I'm tired of this conversation. Let's get going."

"...thanks."

* * *

_Yu Dao_  
_Late Summer_  
_1 Year After Sozin's Comet_

They climbed the rope, they got out of the cage, and they passed over the siege wall onto the roof just beyond.

And so they were trapped together in Yu Dao.

The papers that had been furnished to Mai by Iroh were very clear on the nature of Zuko's lockdown. Yu Dao was a valuable colony, and its walls had been constructed to hold off any army. They were reinforced from within by metal, and extended deep into the ground all around the city. Any enterprising Earthbenders who resolved to go all the way under the walls would find an additional problem in the form of the old mines that ran beneath the whole city. No one had a map of the tunnel system, and too much Earthbending in the wrong spot could cause a disastrous collapse. Even a Master Earthbender would find being trapped in a collapsing mine to be a very brief and very dark experience.

It was over the walls- which only worked if you had a grapple launcher and something for it to latch onto, making it good only for getting _in_- or through the gate.

There was no third option.

Mai and Sokka climbed down from the building roof where the grapple had caught, and dropped down onto an empty street not far from an intersection. Dark buildings rose up around them, and there didn't seem to be anyone around to act as an inconvenient witness, but Mai immediately dragged Sokka into the nearest dark alley just on a general sense of professionalism. They waited there for a bit to confirm that they hadn't been observed by someone looking out a window or something like that, and then by mutual agreement reached purely by facial expressions, once again emerged into the street-

-and stepped right into the midst of the funeral procession that had just turned the corner.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. A View to a Death-Related Debacle

**A View to a Death-Related Debacle**

One moment Sokka was alone with Mai, and the next a parade of saggy-faced people turned a corner to flow around them with annoyed expressions. Sokka wondered if it was some weird kind of local greeting before the bulk of the crowd rounded the corner and the coffin came into view. It was a simple wooden box of unmistakable dimensions, held high and level by the crowd so that it almost floated on a river of mourners.

Sokka looked to Mai, and with her nod, they both started going with the flow.

The procession was unnaturally silent, and it wasn't until Sokka looked down that he realized why: Everyone around him was wearing soft slippers. That was an unusual choice for walking around in the streets, but from what Sokka could see, now that he knew to look, the road itself was unusually clean. Had someone cleaned this route in preparation for the funeral? It wouldn't surprise him, given the coordination on display. As the macabre parade wound its way through the streets, people emerged from the dark houses to join the crowd. They must have known that the procession would be coming along this route, and the timing, so they dimmed their lights and watched for their cue to emerge. Sokka bet that if he had been flying over Yu Dao on Appa at that moment, he would be able to spot the parade route as a shadowy path amidst the otherwise bright lights of the city.

Even in the dark, it wasn't hard to see the Fire Nation soldiers- just spear-carriers, but still armored and alert- standing on duty every block or so.

Sokka had to step lightly, to keep his boots from clopping on the stone street. He knew that Mai's boots were just as heavy-duty as his, but somehow she always managed that silent walk-thing. It was probably part of her training. The Fire Nation probably threw hot coals at kids who weren't quiet enough.

The procession eventually emerged into a torch-lit plaza with what seemed like a wooden-plank stage set up at the far end. Before Sokka could make out who was standing atop it, he found himself elbowed and jostled as the people around him pressed together so that the rear of the parade could flow into the plaza. He saw Mai getting the same treatment, and it really said something about the professionalism she had developed in the last year because he knew that she did _not_ like being touched by strangers, and that dislike was usually expressed by way of fast-moving sharp metal things. Instead, she grimaced and tried to ease away from the pressure, but with it coming at her from all sides she wound up doing something like a little dance that carried her away from Sokka.

Their eyes met for one anxious moment before Sokka's view of Mai was eclipsed by the shifting crowd.

Just as Sokka got settled in place, he found a large wooden box bearing down on his head from above. He threw his hands up and caught the front edge of the coffin, and the momentum of its travel carried it along to the next pair of hands before Sokka could even wonder what to do. The box passed easily overhead and continued on towards the stage, where the crowd worked together to delicately slide it up onto the dais. The figures on the stage received the coffin reverently and moved it to a central location, and then stepped away to line up for whatever was to come next.

In the mix of moonglow and torchlight, Sokka finally had a chance to see the people at the center of this little display.

It was-

-_Sneers?_

Jet's Freedom Fighter?

Sure enough, the stout and oddly coiffed teenage guerilla was up on the stage staring heavily at the coffin. At his side, holding onto his arm and patting his shoulder in a standard consoling manner, was a girl who Sokka didn't recognize. It was hard to tell in the haphazard light, but it looked like she was wearing both greens and reds. Beside the girl, there was a man up on the stage in thoroughly red robes, and next to him was as a pair of even older men dressed like a Fire Sage and an Earth Shaman, most likely indicating that they were in fact a Fire Sage and an Earth Shaman.

Everyone stared at the coffin a little more, but thankfully no one popped out, so the Sage and the Shaman stepped forward and began speaking, trading lines back and forth in an overly rehearsed little display:

"Fa Ming was a pillar of the community, an engineer of great skill who enriched Yu Dao with his work and warmth. He contributed his knowledge to our craftsmen, his commissioned designs illuminating new ideas that have continued to put Yu Dao at the forefront of forging. After we welcomed him to our city, he embraced our ways and our people, giving of his time and money to the community to further unite us. Nowhere was his love for his fellow man see more keenly than when he took in his nephew, opening his home to-" The speaker cut off with a squawk.

That's when the ninjas landed on the stage.

* * *

Finally, something to _do._

There was a certain way of doing things in the Fire Nation, and that included matters like assassination and sabotage. So long as you couldn't be legally connected with the effort in question, it was actually quite admirable to arrange for your enemies to lethally trip on a banana peel and their secret intelligence to disappear into thin air (so long as the Royal Family wasn't your target). To that end, your agents couldn't exactly go out wearing a uniform, and since bloodshed was a likely result of those kinds of jobs, they had to wear something that wouldn't show the stains and was easily disposable. In the Fire Nation, everything was red anyway, so it wasn't too hard to select suitable attire for such occasions, but nevertheless black seemed to emerge as the preferred color for the stylish assassin. Mai suspected it had something to do with general personality of the typical assassin.

She preferred black, after all, and she had once looked seriously at a career as a privately-contracted ninja.

Still, Mai was quite surprised to see an entire team of people swathed in black tunics- complete with black hoods and masks- jumping down from the rooftops surrounding the plaza to land right on the stage.

Surprised, but more than a little delighted.

She had no mission-based reason to get into a fight in this specific situation, but she was fairly willing to bet that random ninja attacks had something to do with whatever weird stuff was going on in this city, and (generally speaking) it was Mai's experience that saving victims had better chances of yielding helpful information than inviting herself to join the attackers.

She began shoving her way through the crowd, pushing at the people in front of her with all her strength, and as soon as she had enough room, she whipped her arms up and flexed her wrists in a very specific way. Half-moon blades went spinning and sparkling out into the torchlight to lodge into the back of the ninja closest to the edge of the stage. The concentrated shirshu venom immediately went to work, and the figure crumpled into a heap before Mai could even select her next target. By that point, the oddly dressed stocky guy on the stage had gotten into a brawl with one of the ninjas, and the girl beside him was swinging around a meteor hammer of all things. The three older men were all running away like sensible victims of a ninja attack.

Mai finally shoved her way to the front of the stage. She grabbed the edge, yanked herself up into a flying leap, and kicked out at the pair of ninjas turning to face her. Her kick fell far short, of course, but the crescent blades that flew out of her ankle-launcher more than covered the distance. Both ninjas dropped like a sack of knives, but far more quietly.

Mai didn't see the next attacks coming, nor did she even hear them, but some combination of her senses somehow detected the swinging blades, so without even seeing them she threw herself into a backwards twist that shifted her body just out of range of the cutting edges. Two of the ninjas were now in front of her, holding long knives and managing to look angry even through their all-concealing rag-masks. Mai twitched her own hands and was instantly holding two of her best knives, which might not have been as long but made up for it in how they were used. Both ninjas stabbed in at her simultaneously, but Mai parried the attacks and guided the enemy blades to crash down into the wooden stage. She followed that up with a roundhouse kick that swung her left boot into the heads of both ninja, laying them out and leaving her free to find new targets.

Mai had a smile on her face the whole time.

Better for her to get involved before Sokka found a way to put himself in danger, like in Ba Sing Se. Although, come to think of it, Mai had technically put him on the path for that specific danger. Perhaps jumping into the fight wasn't such a good idea...

Mai's smile faded. This was why she worked alone, these days.

* * *

Mai looked so content up there, and performed with a grace and beauty that completely belied the violence of the situation, that Sokka had trouble tearing his eyes away from her. He managed it, though, because he had absolutely no idea what was going on besides Ninja Attack, and that situation simply could not stand. Not knowing stuff was one of Sokka's pet beaver-peeves.

The first notable thing he spotted was one of the ninjas trying to pry the lid off the coffin.

Well, that was interesting. And more than a little creepy. Maybe he should do something about that. Sokka checked with Boomerang, and sure enough Boomerang agreed wholeheartedly. It flew in a perfect curve to smack the ninja upside the head, knocking him (Sokka was assuming all the ninjas were hims unless otherwise informed) down and leaving a hole in the on-stage excitement.

The crowd had thinned as people ran for safety, so Sokka dashed up to the stage and climbed on just in front of the coffin. This close, he noticed that the section of the stage underneath the coffin was a separate piece from the rest of the platform. It almost looked like... a trapdoor? Now, why would a coffin need a trapdoor beneath it?

Sokka was suddenly torn away from his investigations by another ninja, who then went on to slam Sokka against the coffin. When his vision stopped rattling, he saw the ninja raising a short _kama_ sickle in a very unfriendly manner, and he just barely managed to bring Boomerang back out of its holster to block the stab. The kama's blade passed right through one of Boomerang's holes and stopped just short of Sokka's chest, so Sokka pushed back and tried to get a little more distance, but the ninja leaned into his own push, and the interlocked weapons trembled between them.

Then a shadow with green highlights appeared behind the ninja and slammed a knife down hilt-first on the guy's head. The ninja immediately dropped, and Sokka was left with a good view of Mai's blank face. She glanced behind her and said, "If you have a need to get involved, try to stick close to me. I can protect you."

"You have fun; I need to check something out under the stage." Sokka had no doubt that standing behind Mai was probably the safest place in the whole plaza right now, but he didn't leave the Southern Water Tribe with Aang and Katara to stay safe. _Sokka_ was the one who courted danger and intrigue to protect others.

Mai gave a tepid nod, and with a swish of her robes and a haze of metallic sparkles, she was back into the fray, attacking the ninjas who were trying to gang up on Sneers. Sokka crawled his way to the back of the stage- ninjas occasionally flying over his head- and swung down into the open rear.

The main platform rattled above him with the sound of boots and crashing bodies, but Sokka ignored that in favor of the fancy machinery he found set up right beneath the trapdoor. Not only was there a full set-up to open the door with a twitch of a lever, but there was a _hole in the ground_ right below the coffin that led into deep shadow, and a mechanism that- judging by the nozzles, billows, strategically-placed sparkrocks, and pot of watery tar- was supposed to light the coffin on fire as it fell.

Oh... kay. That was interesting.

There was a scraping of boots on stone, and Sokka turned to find the girl who had been comforting Sneers- and yes, she was wearing both green and red- swinging down to join him under the stage. She raised her meteor hammer defensively and said, "Who are you?"

"Sokka, official friend-of-Avatar-Aang-at-large. I have a card and everything. What's all this under here?"

She maintained her stance, but shifted her attention to the subject of Sokka's query. "In Yu Dao, we combine the beliefs of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. We send the bodies back into the ground, but we set them on fire first so that their Spirits can be properly returned to the Cosmic Energy."

Sokka blinked. "You drop flaming corpses into the ground for your funerals? I am _definitely_ buying a vacation house here."

The girl at least seemed to decide that he was no danger, straightening out of her stance and brushing past Sokka to approach the flaming-burial mechanism. "We need to lay Fa Ming to rest. Those guys up there are trying to get into his coffin to- to desecrate his body or something." She grabbed a lever and yanked, but there was a sound like a crunching, and the mechanism did nothing but give a little rattle. "It's broken!"

Sokka moved up beside her and took a look at the machinery. It was hard to see details underneath the stage like this, but he couldn't miss where one of the wooden gears was in the process of disintegrating. Had it been sabotaged? The right kind of acid could weaken the structure so that it broke under pressure, but then again maybe it was just old and decaying. Either way, Sokka knew what to do. "Give me some of the chain from your meteor hammer. I can fix this. By the way, do you have a name, or is that not fashionable in the city of flaming flying coffins?"

"I am Kori Morishita. And I'm really glad you're here to help."

* * *

Okay, fun was fun, but exactly how many ninjas were there? Mai enjoyed a massive brawl as much as the next knife-wielding misanthropic young lady, but this was getting rather repetitive. She had begun hording her soporific crescent blades, and was falling back on her regular supply of knives, razors, and sharpened bolts. As yet another ninja approached her- this one wielding a pair of _tonfa_ sticks- Mai lazily aimed her left arm and fired a pair of bolts from the wrist cuff. They both pierced her attacker's hands, right where the tendon stretched between the thumb and pointer finger, and the ninja gave a little blood-curdling scream as a result. Mai drew a larger knife and stepped forward to slam the handle into the guy's face, dropping him, and then spun around to stab another ninja with the bone knife Sokka had given her. The blade sank easily into fabric and flesh, and didn't so much as rattle when its path deflected off the ninja's ribs, but the ninja himself sure did.

She was looking around for her next target when the whole stage shuddered beneath her feet, and then the coffin was consumed by what looked like a spontaneously generated fireball and dropped through a new hole that opened up beneath it.

Huh.

_That_ was interesting.

The remaining ninjas just stared for a moment, and then one cried out, "Company, _vanish!_"

And then, of course, came the smoke bombs. Mai covered her nose and threw a bunch of razor disks into the exploding mists, but the only sound that came back was a whisper of movement, and when a breeze came along to dispel the smoke, Mai was alone with the weird-looking guy from the funeral. Even the unconscious bodies were all gone; this was a definitely a professional crew at work. At least they had the decency to leave all of Mai's blades that hadn't been attached to their victims. She would need to get a few replacements for what she lost, but she would have more than enough to get by, once she cleaned up here. And so the fun of battle faded away, leaving the aftermath for Iroh's favorite agent to handle.

Mai turned to the guerilla guy and quirked an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you can tell me what this was all about?"

He eyed her warily. "You don't know?"

"As it happens, I'm just a woman who likes to join random brawls, but I'd like to learn more about the situation."

"Who are you?"

"The name is Mai," she said. "_Lady_ Mai."

* * *

As soon as Sokka climbed back up on top of the stage, and reassured Mai that nothing else would be exploding or dropping down old mining shafts any time soon, he initiated proper introductions. "Sneers, you seem to have already met Mai. She's a Good People, helping out Aang like I am. Mai, this is Sneers, he... um, he fought the Fire Nation during the war, last I saw him. His leader and Aang had... dealings. And the young lady behind me is Kori Morishita, says she's Sneers' _girlfriend_, and _wow_, buddy, if that's true, good for you."

Sneers nodded. "Good to see you again, Sokka. Things have changed for me since- since Jet. I've started a new life here in Yu Dao."

Sokka glanced at Kori. She was maybe a year or two younger than himself, dressed up in good clothes, had her hair tied up in a kind of topknot with _red_ ribbon, and also wore a bright red sash and shawl over her green clothes. "Yeah, I can tell. Seriously, good for you."

Mai kneeled down to collect some of her discarded blades. "I know the name Morishita from my briefing papers. He's the mayor of Yu Dao."

Kori nodded. "My father. He was up here with me and Sneers before the attack. And I just want to say, you were really great with all those blades before. Did you train with a master?"

"No, my experience with sharp things is all self-inflicted, to say it in the least tasteful way imaginable." Mai began slotting some of her blades back into her wrist cuffs. "Returning to the topic of the guys in black randomly attacking a funeral, they let your father run away, so he wasn't the target. The attackers tried to get at the coffin, and then left when it was beyond their reach. That's what this was all about."

Sneers gave a heavy sigh. "Fa Ming was my uncle. I've been living with him here in the city, but now he's... gone."

"_Uncle?!_ But you- I thought the Freedom Fighters-"

"Had no family?" Sneers gave a smile with no warmth in it. "It's true now, but how I found my uncle... it's a long story.

Sokka gave him the best consoling shoulder pat he could manage. "We should find someplace where we can really talk."

* * *

Considering the way this Sneers dressed, Mai expected his home to be amongst the Earth Slums near the smithing section of the city. (The Fire Nation elite didn't appreciate the sound of hammering at all hours of the day, and Mai had to admit that she completely understood.) However, he led the group to the better section of town, to a house that wasn't appreciably smaller than Mai's old family home in the Fire Nation's capital.

She assumed her family was back over there, but she had never been able to confirm anything either way. Was Tom-Tom learning to walk on the rocks of the Caldera's rim, or somewhere else in the Fire Nation? Shoving the thought into the back of her mind, Mai glanced around and said, "Earth Kingdom rebels really retire in style these days. I should ask for a pay raise. Sokka, can you afford something like this?"

Sokka grimaced at that, although it was an open question whether the cause was the thought of his personal funds or Mai's bluntness.

The other two took Mai's observation in stride as they passed into the front parlor. No servants appeared to greet them, and Sneers plopped himself right down on a couch. "Yeah, it's step up from my old digs. My uncle was a weapons engineer, very respected in the city. I had never met him until after the war ended, but he opened me his home to me, no questions asked. I guess this is all mine, now."

Mai walked slowly through the receiving room, eyeing the decor. Greens predominated, which made sense given Sneers' professed heritage, but the construction of the house was obviously Fire Nation, and the furniture tended to include at least some red highlights. Mai supposed that here in Yu Dao, it was assumed that anyone wanting fancy, well-made furniture would naturally want it in red. Perhaps that would change in a generation. "And what did your uncle do, exactly, to tick off a company of ninja? Renege on a delivery?"

It was Kori who answered. Her eyes blazed like Azula's used to when discussing the Avatar, after he first escaped them in Omashu. "Fire Regent Zuko sent them, and he's the one who had Fa Ming murdered."

Mai felt her eyes go wide, and she wanted to curse herself for losing control of her face like that. Sokka nearly fell out of the chair he had been lowering himself into, and said, "Wait, what? That would explain why no soldiers intervened, but if he had your uncle killed, why also crash his funeral?"

Sneers sighed. "My uncle was working on something for a secret client. He wouldn't tell me anything about it, and said it was for my own safety, that there could be trouble. I said I could protect him, but I didn't know what that would really mean. One day, Uncle was returning home from work at his lab, and right in the middle of the street, he- they said he moved as though struck by a weapon, and there was a large wound on his chest. Everyone who was there agreed that there was also a crack in the air, like thunder. People tried to help my uncle, but he was bleeding too much, and- and the healer didn't- didn't get there fast enough."

Kori crossed her arms over her chest, and she was scowling. "A sound like thunder. Fire Regent Azula is famous for her lightning powers, of course. She- or anyone with her skill- could have gotten close in a crowd, unleashed a small charge, and... it's just so awful." Kori shook her head at the thought, and moved over to take a seat beside Sneers. They wrapped their arms around each other while Kori continued, "Fa Ming's assistant went missing the same day, and their lab was ransacked. We couldn't find any trace of this mysterious job. Before we even organized the funeral, Fire Regent Zuko and his army descended on the city and cut us off from all outside contact. They even have their archers shooting down messenger birds. And now trained assassins show up at the funeral. They're obviously still trying to wipe out Fa Ming's legacy. It's completely dishonorable."

"Yes," Mai said softly. "It is, isn't it?"

Sokka gave her his Plotting look, the one he wore whenever he was thinking like Azula, all strategy and analysis. "I guess Zuko really has gone off the deep end, huh? He was always 'I must capture the Avatar to restore my Honor!' but he gave up on that at Ba Sing Se when he chose to go back to the Fire Nation. I guess he's been taking lessons from Azula."

Mai considered that. Could he really be that different? He and Iroh had run a pretty good con back in Ba Sing Se, turning Azula's ambush around on her at the marina and bringing the Earth King's rebels down on her head, but something about a ninja attack was just so... not him. He'd either send an army, or he'd be so sneaky that no one would ever realize what was happening, unless something went wrong. Masked assassins and a public attempt to steal a full coffin was an odd middle ground. If it truly was Zuko behind that, though, it was proof that he was no longer the man Mai and Iroh and even Jin had known. Still, there was more going on here than simply attacking Zuko would solve.

Well, Iroh did say that he trusted her judgment. Mai could only hope she lived up to his expectations. "I need to get to Zuko. Whatever is going on, he's the closest thing we have to a lead right now."

Sneers looked up at her. "And what are you going to do?"

"I can talk and I'm covered with knives. That will accommodate a wide range of possibilities." Sneers nodded to that, but Sokka looked back at Mai with wary eyes.

Kori stood up and put her hands on her hips, beaming at Mai. "I can help! Zuko is staying at my father's house. He has a secure suite on one of the upper floors, but tomorrow we're hosting a social gathering, something Zuko ordered to keep the morale of the city up. The Prince Regent will be appearing briefly to make a speech to the guests. I can get you on the guest list, and get you routes through the whole mansion. I can't do anything about the guards, since they're Zuko's, but my servants will know to look for you and do whatever you ask."

Mai nodded, impressed. For new colony money who bared her midriff away from a beach, Kori Morishita was apparently a good ally to have. "That will do. Sokka and I will infiltrate, and one or both of us will see what Zuko thinks he's doing."

* * *

Trying to check into a hotel would probably be the dumbest thing they could do in the situation, so Sneers told Sokka and Mai that they could spend the night in his house's guest rooms. The rooms were probably bigger than they could have found at any affordable inn, anyway.

As soon as morning came, Sokka and Mai went out to get ready for the party that night. Sneers didn't even have good clothes for himself, apparently still being into the whole Forest Rebel fashion style, and Kori was too short to share anything with Mai, so getting decent clothes that would let them blend in with Yu Dao's high society crowd was the first priority. "Kori's pants may be green, but the guest list has a lot of Fire Nation names on it," Mai was saying as they walked down the street towards the tiny fashion district. There were fewer soldiers in this neighborhood than in the smithing district, but Fire Army people in full armor were still on every block acting like police. "I'll be back in reds and playing full-blooded Fire. You, _Lover_, are my colony-born boyfriend. Kori and Sneers prove that it's a viable cover story."

Sokka grinned. "Why am I always the lover? There something you want to share with me?" Part of his grin came from remembering how he had turned the old joke around on her the previous evening, outside Yu Dao. She had accepted it with fairly good grace, for Mai.

"If you ever want to infiltrate someplace a little less upscale than Ember Island or this mayor's mansion, you can play whatever part you want. Until then, _Lover_, you need an excuse for why you can walk around without at least some gold tinting in your eyes, and fortunately for us both, Fire Nation heiresses can be both willful and adventurous."

"Sure, sure." They stopped at one shop that had fully dressed mannequins set up outside. Sokka rather liked the look of the red vest on display. "So, uh... you know, speaking of lovers... back in Ba Sing Se... well, we weren't gossiping or anything... we were actually talking about how you went from pretending to being a Kyoshi Warrior to helping Azula take over the city... and it just happened to come up... _Zuko_ brought it up, honest... when you were kids... you and Zuko... um..."

"Served Azula? Had unfashionable hair? Lived in big houses with servants who would clean our clothes for us?"

The thought of Mai and Zuko sharing all that made Sokka's skin pucker. Maybe their history could be exploited to lure Mai into a trap, but really... really Sokka just didn't like that he was feeling like an outsider to whatever it was Mai and Zuko had together. "When you were kids.. he said... you... had a crush... on him."

Mai crossed her arms (actually a good sign, since it meant it would take longer to get into a knife-throwing position) and turned a frosty glare on Sokka. "Maybe you had better tell me where you're going with this."

"Hey, I'm not doubting you!" He almost reached out to touch her, but then immediately thought better of it. "I respect... no, I... I _admire_ you. The work you've done ever since Ba Sing Se... you're a hero! Like my dad, and everyone who protected other people during the war!"

Mai's eyes went wide, and her arms dropped to her sides. "You think I'm going to try to protect Zuko."

"No! I mean, yeah, you're... you're _loyal_. To people, I mean. I didn't really understand you until I realized that everything you did in Ba Sing Se was to save Zuko, but then I got it. That we're the same way. Also, we're both sarcastic and pessimistic and always ready with some snark..." Sokka smiled as he pondered Mai's better qualities. She really was as good as people could come.

He was also aware that Mai was a woman. Sokka was not so blind that he was in denial of _that_. Could this be a boy'n'girl thing? It wasn't a blinding flash of love like with Yue. It wasn't a strong and steady tug of love like with Suki, but his feelings for Suki had weakened as they spent less time together.

"I just want to make sure things go smoothly," Sokka eventually said. "I know that loyalty is great and all, but sometimes that winds up pulling you in two different directions. Ba Sing Se was crazy, you know?"

Mai glared at him for a long moment, and then sighed. "I understand, I suppose. Yes, I wanted to save Zuko. But he threw away everything to go back to Azula. Whatever he thought he was doing, staying loyal to him would take more than I have to give, so I'm done with that now. I'd prefer not to hurt Zuko if possible, but..."

Sokka nodded. "But my mom died because of the war. You can't see your family anymore. Ty Lee got ripped out of her life. General Iroh lost his son. And Aang... well, you know. War hurts."

"Yeah, war hurts. So, yes, Sokka, I will stay _smooth_ tonight." It was hard to see, but Sokka had trained himself to pick up on Mai's smirks.

Sokka smirked back. "Then let's make sure we look smooth, too."

They proceeded with their shopping, and Sokka enjoyed it despite the lack of blue clothes. There were just so many nice things to try on, and Iroh had given Mai enough money to cover all kinds of expenses, so Sokka was able to look at the nicest of the nice. He tried on one green vest with a red sash and went to find Mai so that she could see. "What do you think?"

She turned from the robes she had been sorting through and gave Sokka a look like she was deciding where on his body to stick a knife. "The lines are all wrong for you, and I recommend something with sleeves. You can hide so many wonderful things in sleeves. Get something- oh, never mind, I'll just show you." She glided back over to where the men's clothes were on display, and quickly honed in on something she liked. "Here, try this one on."

It started with an unusual jacket- in the front it only came down just short of Sokka's stomach, but in the back it hung like a cape all the way to his ankles. It was lightweight, as was the red shirt that went under it and the accompanying green pants. What detailing there was on the ensemble was gold, but it wasn't the riot of detail Sokka usually saw on rich-type clothing. Sokka came out to model it for Mai, and she felt the need to reach out and tug it into what she saw as its proper place on Sokka's body, before stepping back and giving a nod. "Yes, that will work."

Sokka couldn't recall Mai ever touching him like, except to strap weapons on him. It was nice. "So what about you?"

Mai let a brief grimace ripple over her blank expression. "I'll keep looking."

The proprietress of the store wound up getting involved, assembling something for Mai in dark reds and black. Sokka watched with interest as Mai emerged from the dressing room to show it off.

Mai, of course, was unhappy. "I guess the layers are okay. They leave room for my... accessories. And the length of these sleeves is minimally adequate. But this thing leaves my shoulders bare? Can't we cover that up like my neck? I'm not going to the beach."

The proprietress clucked her tongue. "But skin is _in_, my lady. Most women are wearing two-piece outfits in this weather, and the most fashionable are showing off a bit up top, too. Covering you up like this may be to your taste, but _at least_ give me the shoulders. You don't want to make an appearance tonight dressed like my grandmother. And, not to get too political, but if you get into trouble with the Fire Regent's soldiers, a little shoulder tease can make things easier, hm?"

Mai's eyes narrowed, and Sokka could tell that she was digging her heels in for a fight. Before the metaphorical wall went metaphorically up, though, he decided to venture his own opinion. "I like it, especially the bare shoulders. The black matches your hair, the shades contrast great with your skin, and with your neck covered, your face and shoulders combine to make a kind of, like, wavy transition thing into the reds. It works. You- um, you look really good. It comes together. Pretty-like."

Mai just stared at him.

The proprietress chuckled. "See, your young man is positively popping with desire. You _must_ leave the shoulders bare. It's a little hint to what you hide."

Mai just stared at him.

"So," the proprietress said, "you'll take it, then?"

Mai just stared at him. Then, finally, she sighed. Of course. "Fine, I'll take it. I guess I don't want to waste any more time on this."

The proprietress had the gall to wink at Mai, and Sokka made himself scarce in case she was trying on her blade holsters beneath the dress. Seriously, 'popping' with desire?

When they emerged from the shop, purchases in hand, Mai finally brightened up. Relatively. For her. "Next, we get something a bit more suitable to our professions."

"Knives?"

"I have enough for now. What we need for tonight is _explosives_."

Sokka felt a grin light up his face. Shopping was so much fun, and it was great to do it with a friend.

* * *

The night was warm and the air was thick. The wealthy and important of Yu Dao filed out of their homes, not to mark a death this time, but to play at life. Fire Regent Zuko's soldiers were once again out in force, searching carriages and keeping those who chose to walk in an orderly line. Mayor Morishita's mansion was lit up like the day, a mix of torches and glow crystals chasing away even the hint of a shadow.

From his rooftop vantage point, Longshot had a good view of it all.

He spotted Sokka and this Lady Mai making their way towards the entrance. They were stopped by a servant, who in turn consulted a scroll and then waved them through with a flourish.

Longshot pointed down to the scene.

Smellerbee leaned down and squinted. "Yup, that's them. Going in to angle their way to Zuko, just like Sneers said."

Longshot nodded, and then motioned at the far side of the mansion.

In the reflected light of the party, Smellerbee nodded. "Gotcha. I'll watch from the east, you take the west here. Between us, we'll catch them wherever they come out."

Longshot looked over at his companion, and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Smellerbee shrugged. "I dunno, but if they _do_ betray us, we'll make sure they never mess with us again. Sokka was trouble the whole time we were with Jet, and this Fire Nation ditz isn't worth the air she breathes."

Longshot nodded. Better to be done with them if there was any chance of trouble. Yu Dao was too important to risk.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	4. From the Fire Nation with Love

**From the Fire Nation with Love**

It was interesting what Mai could tell about the elite of Yu Dao from their arms.

She moved through the Grand Hallway of the Morishita Mansion arm in arm with Sokka, traveling the length of the main party room towards the massive staircase on the far side. Thanks to many sharp words from her mother, Mai had learned how to observe without being observed in turn, and as she employed that skill now, she was almost tempted to thank Mother for the training. It was the arms of the people that told Mai the most.

Anyone with no red in their clothing tended to bare thick, strong arms, obviously born of spending years pounding metal with a hammer. Even the oldest, fattest, and wealthiest-looking had arms that still showed a good shape, a strengthening of the muscles that would never go away. Interestingly, a visible number of older men and women in red also frequently chose to wear short or no sleeves, and showed off the same well-honed muscles. Mai guessed that they were the kind of bosses who put in the work alongside their employees. Most people in red, though, wore sleeves as long as Mai's and had a decidedly soft shape to their bodies.

There were no younger people without red somewhere in their outfits, and their arms tended to be lean and solid. Their generation obviously didn't toil with metal and fire, but they were apparently active nonetheless; Mai recalled how Kori had swung around that meteor hammer with ease and skill.

Sokka's murmuring broke through Mai's thoughts. "Watcha looking at?"

"I'm checking out the cute boys, of course."

"Oh, of course." Sokka looked around. "See Zuko anywhere?"

"No, he's likely hiding upstairs until his big speech." Mai glanced over at her escort, examining how he fit into this crowd. In his Lover persona, he kept his back straight enough to get minimal approval from her mother, and he didn't stomp around like he was marching across a snow drift or whatever they did down at the South Pole. He blended in rather well, actually, and he looked quite sharp in his fancy jacket. He didn't lose anything to the other young men and women in attendance, and he filled out his clothes nicely with the confidence of a soldier.

Yes, Mother would approve. At least minimally.

Mai found that she approved as well.

She didn't let her thoughts go further, but she clung to his arm and enjoyed the warmth of his body, because that was all part of their personas. Besides, any girls who saw Mai so close would let their eyes drift away from Sokka, and there was no point in courting any extra attention.

It was so different from the old days, when Azula's every action was a cry for attention, and Ty Lee's every outfit was a cry for attention, and Mai's every sigh was a cry for mercy.

"There's the Mayor," Sokka said. He twitched his chin over to the left, and sure enough, Mayor Morishita was a short distance away, chatting animatedly- one might say desperately- with several people in red and gold. "If he's here hanging out, then it must be a while before Zuko makes his appearance. Or else hosting visiting warlords is done differently in the colonies."

"Some protocols are universal. At least we know where Zuko will make his appearance. He's has always been about _drama_, and I doubt he's changed that much. He'll appear at the top of the staircase and speak from on high to us lowly colonists."

"You know where the best spot is to keep an eye on things?"

"A rope hanging from the ceiling?"

Sokka frowned. "Okay, that is a good idea, but a little impractical in the current situation. I was thinking more the dance floor." Mai's grip on Sokka's arm tightened, and he let out a little grunt of pain. "What? You know I'm right."

Mai turned to glare at him. "Sokka, I'm Fire Nation. I've seen dancing while working for Iroh, but I don't do it. I've never even formally trained how to fight, never mind something like that. I would look _awkward_ and _clumsy_."

"...and that's bad?" He actually tried to smile at her. "Mai, it's okay. This isn't anything complicated, this is for rich people. Even Toph learned how to dance, and she doesn't need her Earthsense for it. You just hold your partner and sway gently to the music. It's like pretending to be a piece of grass in a breeze. You're way smarter than grass, right?"

Mai couldn't break cover by taking out a knife in a threatening manner, so she settled for more glaring. "Stop using questions as traps."

"Hey, I'm a hunter, trapping is easier than poking you with a pointy stick." His arm stiffened in Mai's grasp, and he quickly added, "Don't think too much about that one. Anyway, it will be fine. You're all balanced and stuff, so you just shift your weight from foot to foot, and move around in the same direction as everyone else. Seriously, walking is harder; you'll probably look smoother than I will. And we'll be in the perfect position to see when Zuko is coming."

Mai had run out of rational objections, and reducing herself to irrationality would be even worse than looking awkward.

Besides, this wasn't one of Azula's games, and Sokka wasn't Zuko. Maybe the process wouldn't be utterly humiliating, and at least she would get to spend some time in the arms of a handsome man, even if it was a friend and for business.

"All right, fine. Sweep me off my feet, or whatever."

* * *

Not three steps into the simple dance, Mai utterly mastered it, and Sokka avoided a stabbing by successfully suppressing the urge to stick his face in hers and remind her that he totally 'toldja so.' Instead, he divided his attention between moving rhythmically with Mai and keeping any eye on their surroundings.

Sokka kept an eye on the guards, of course, but he also caught the wolfish glances the young men were throwing Mai's way. He pulled her a little closer as they moved to the music. No sense messing with wolf-people.

Fire Colony dancing was weird. Back home at the South Pole, dances were pretty much just a part of celebrations or gatherings of the whole tribe, and it was done as a group. Or so Sokka had been taught; that kind of thing had pretty much died out after the Tribe began drifting apart, and Sokka had only vague memories of such things that he wasn't even sure were real. When he had visited the Northern Water Tribe with Aang and Katara, Sokka had actually been able to see the real thing, and it had looked pretty good, but he hadn't been able to summon the nerve to try. He had been too worried about looking _awkward_ and _clumsy_ in front of Yue. Things weren't that different in most of the Earth Kingdom, although their stuff involved a lot more stomping. The regular folk danced at faster paces than the rich folk in Gaoling and Ba Sing Se, but it was all the same kind of stuff.

It was the Fire Nation that did things differently. They didn't just dance in groups, they also liked to partner up and do unique two-person dancing. Sometimes the partners held each other and sometimes they simply danced next to each other. Aang said that the entire Fire Nation used to love dancing, but nowadays it only happened in the colonies. Sokka had been able to observe the styles during his travels in support of the Harmony Restoration Movement, but with he and Suki apart, he had never really tried it.

Mai was his first true dance partner.

He had to be careful where he put his hands, not just for the usual reasons, but also because she was still liberally covered in knives. It was the type of challenge that Sokka almost hated enjoying so much.

He and Mai spun around in step with the other dancers, and then drew together. Mai leaned in and whispered, "The soldiers guarding the stairway are shifting their positions, and the Mayor just disentangled himself from a conversation. Zuko's probably ready to appear."

Sokka nodded. "Then let's go. Good luck, Lover."

Mai showed half a smile, and then the pair drifted apart in opposite directions. Sokka made his way to the edge of the hall, knowing that Mai would be doing the same. According to Kori, the main staircase was not the only way to the upper floors. There were smaller sets of stairs on each side of the house, away where only the house's servants would be hanging around. As Sokka moved towards a door that would take him out of the hall, one of those servants moved to intercept him with a concerned expression, but as soon as the man drew close Sokka leaned forward and whispered, "Moonraker."

At the agreed-upon code word, the servant stopped, nodded, and smoothly moved away. Sokka continued on, made sure that no one was watching as Mayor Morishita called for everyone's attention. The last thing he heard before he slipped through the door was the introduction for 'the guest of honor,' a title that Sokka bet would make Zuko giddy.

The room beyond was dark, lit only by the glow that came in through the modern glass-covered windows.

Sokka only looked around enough to make sure that he wouldn't be tripping over any furniture. This? This was Room #1. Sokka expanded out the mental model he had created based on Kori's directions. Room #1 led to similarly unlit Room #2 and Room Pointless. Sokka passed through to the former, skipping Pointless entirely because _duh_, and then moved down The Hallway Shaped Like a Tundra Cat's Hind Tibia-Bone. At the end of the hallway on the right, there was an expected door, and Sokka finally reached Room #3. He immediately slipped behind a large cabinet by the door, and then peeked out to make sure that he was alone. Like the others, Room #3 was dark and empty of everything but treacherous furniture. The staircase was in the far corner, a winding little affair that would carry Sokka up to further victory. He stepped out and began moving to the stairs-

-and a heavy hand clamped down on Sokka's shoulder.

"Yeee_aaaaaaaghua!_"

Sokka immediately spun around and found himself face-to-face with a man in Fire Army armor with a massive chin. He looked at Sokka with knowing eyes and a hard-featured expression, and said, "What are you doing here?"

In the dim light, Sokka thought he caught the glint of metal in the man's mouth as he spoke.

"I- well, you see, I was-"

"And so help me, if you lie that you were looking for the bathroom..." The man gave a toothy grin, and Sokka could definitely see now that his teeth were covered in shining metal. What the slush?! How do teeth get covered in metal?!

Sokka slowly took a step back. "Come on, it's a good excuse because it's also the reason someone is most likely to be lost in someone else's house. Or are you not invited over enough to know that?"

Metal Teeth's grin grew strained, lips pulling even further away from those freaky teeth. Sokka slowly shifted his hands so that he could slip Boomerang out from under his jacket-

-when Kori said, "Lee, there you are. I told you, the bathroom was on the _left._"

The man's grin immediately faded, and Sokka took the opportunity to step around the guy and scoot over to the safety of Kori's presence. She was dressed for the party, of course, in one of those two-piece things that Mai had absolutely refused to put on, and her hair was done up in an even fancier style than usual with a mix of ribbons and chopstick-like thingies. "Thanks for finding me. You told me this place could be confusing, but you didn't say _army guys were patrolling the first floor._"

Kori gave a smile that Sokka decided looked almost chagrined enough. "Sorry, I didn't know. And I don't think we've been introduced, Commander- ?"

"Baji. Commander Baji." He gave a small smile that kept his teeth hidden. "Pleased to officially make your acquaintance, Lady Morishita. This is your guest?"

"Yes, Commander. Lee is an old friend of mine. What are you doing in this section of the house? The Fire Regent's suite is several floors up."

"Ensuring security, of course. The Prince Regent is gracing this colony with his presence, and there have never been more people in this residence. Since your friend here has proven how easily it is to wander into _unsafe_ areas, I think I'll be ordering more of my soldiers on patrol. As family to our host, I'm sure you want your ruler to stay safe."

Kori hesitated before she gave a shallow bow. "I defer to your experience and my _father's_ permission, Commander."

"Of course." Baji gave a bow of his own, and then turned his gaze to Sokka. Baji's lips twitched. "You better get going. Your friend still needs to find that bathroom." He turned and made for the staircase.

Sokka waved a goodbye to the creepy guy and followed Kori out of the room. As soon as he was sure they were away safely, he exhaled some of the tension from his body. "Thanks for the save."

"I'm just glad I saw you making your move and decided to play backup."

Sokka shook his head. "I kind of wish you had gone after Mai, instead. This guy is going to put more guards out, and that could be trouble for her. I could have made do somehow. But, um, I'm still grateful for the help."

He hoped Mai didn't run into trouble.

* * *

Mai shot another soporific blade from beneath her sleeve, dropping the soldier up the hall before he could so much as focus his eyes on her. In the dark hallway of the third floor of the Morishita mansion, Mai couldn't help but smirk and whisper, "I love trouble."

There were more soldiers than expected, for some reason, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. The hardest part was actually remembering Kori's directions to the rear staircase. She and Sokka had taken different routes, just to be sure that one of them got to Zuko. With the initial delay, Mai was worried that Sokka was going to beat her to the Fire Regent's suite, but she was having too much fun to let it really get to her.

She dragged the unconscious soldier to an empty room off of the hallway, and continued on her way.

She turned a corner, and the echo of Zuko's voice washed over her:

"...call upon the masters of Yu Dao to stand firm with me. I am as committed as you to decreasing hostilities with the Earth Kingdom, and this situation is just a small bump on the road to peace..."

As Mai moved further down the hallway, she found the source of Zuko's speech (which someone had obviously written for him). There were window-like openings in the wall that revealed the hall where the party was taking place. Zuko was standing at the top of the massive main staircase, exactly between the two smaller sets of stairs that would take him up to the third floor. A squad of soldiers lined the steps below to keep anyone in the crowd from approaching the Prince Regent, and the lights had been dimmed down on the first floor so that Zuko glowed from on high like the sun. It was all ridiculously pretentious, and from her vantage point a floor up from him, Mai thought that Zuko looked stiff and awkward. Azula had always been better at this type of thing.

Not interested in the official line, Mai moved on while Zuko prattled on.

"...thank you for your cooperation with the Fire Army's honorable soldiers, and once again assure you that this situation is temporary, and will end with a peaceful resolution..."

* * *

Sokka and Kori paused within good ol' Room #1, just off from the main hall. Zuko was going on with his speech, and Sokka had to admit that Angry Guy was doing better with it than Sokka himself probably would have done. The very thought of standing up in front of a crowd and having to talk and be all charismatic and stuff was enough to sour his stomach. That made two things- sneaking and speechifying- that Zuko did better than Sokka.

He really, really hoped that Zuko was also better at leading a country than Sokka would be.

Kori turned to look at Sokka, and her eyes practically glowed in the ambient light. "Do you think he means any of it?"

Sokka shrugged. "I worked with the guy twice, once in Ba Sing Se so that we could both stay alive, and then at the fancy meeting in Caldera City when Aang and all our big shot friends offered to trade the Fire Nation's captured land back in exchange for the colonies and the end to the war. He's a terrible liar, but notice how a lot of what he's saying now is vague and isn't anything close to a real explanation. He's playing for more time. In that sense, he's probably sincere enough."

Kori nodded, and went back to listening. Zuko barely got through the announcement of another shipment of food and supplies that would be distributed tomorrow, though, before Kori gave a heavy sigh with her whole body. "It's not just Zuko who's worrying me. I'm scared of what the people here will do."

That caught Sokka's attention. "You think they might rebel?"

"Not really. We've learned to get by, and the citizens- all of them- love my father. As long as he stays calm, everyone else will do the same. I'm worried about-" She stopped abruptly. "Can I trust you? You're friends with the Avatar, one of the good guys. But can you- I'm not sure about this. I want you to keep that in mind. I might just be nervous and imagining things."

Sokka smiled and tried to stand tall and proud like his father. Kori looked a few years younger than him, and she reminded him a bit of Katara like this. "I understand. I'll keep it to myself, and I'll be ready to forget it at the first sign you're wrong. We're all just doing our best to make sense of things, and none of us have all the information."

Kori offered another smile back, a weak one that quickly disappeared. "Thanks. I just- I'm worried about Sneers. His uncle is at the center of all this and- and he's angrier at Zuko than he lets on. He _hates_ the Fire Nation. He tries to hide it, and I thought it was because he was trying to make a life here in Yu Dao."

"Wait, I thought _you're_ Fire Nation. Mostly."

This time, Kori's smile was real. "My father is from the Fire Nation, and I cherish my Fire Nation heritage. But I am of my mother's blood, too." She raised a fist, and a pillar of earth rose up out of the floor between her and Sokka. She crossed her arms and leaned down on it. "Lately, I'm not sure Sneers would be with me if I couldn't Earthbend and- and prove my other heritage. And with his uncle's work missing and Zuko trying to find it... and Sneers was meeting with some of his old friends just before the lockdown, from his time as a rebel. I hope he's not involved in all this."

Sokka thought about giving her a consoling pat on the head, but decided that it wasn't a good idea. "I'll keep that in mind, but like you said, this is a stressful time. Things will probably work out."

If that sounded reassuring, it was because Sokka was doing a good job covering the suspicion that was blooming in his mind.

* * *

Mai had sunk a third knife into the woodwork above Zuko's bed when he finally arrived in his bedroom. He stopped in place with a sharp clank of his armor as soon as he saw her, and continued to just stare. Mai stared back in turn. This was the first time she had seen him up close since his banishment four years ago, the first time she really saw the scar on his face as more than a splash of color at a distance. The closest she had been to him before now had been at that ambush at the Ba Sing Se marina, when he had turned Azula's trap for him around on his sister. However, between the fight with the Dai Li, Mai's one-sided dual with Iroh, and then the arrival of the Earth King's rebels, there had been no time for a polite hello. Then Azula had fled with Zuko as her captive, while Mai had been captured by the rebels. And yet here they both were, free and working for the side that had once been their enemies. Him because he wanted to teach the Fire Nation about honor, and her because she had finally started to care about things.

If anything, his scar was a prominent reminder that he- and herself as well- had changed so much.

To cover her discomfort, Mai stood up off the bed and drawled, "Nice speech. I liked the part where you were committed 'to decreasing hostilities with the Earth Kingdom.' Let's build on that."

"Mai." Zuko closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you _are_ alive. I went with Azula to tell your family about how you had been captured by the Earth Rebels. Your mother wouldn't stop sobbing."

Mai felt like he had just shoved a sword into her stomach. Her mother cared that much? Since when? No, Mother was probably just overwhelmed by everything- losing Omashu, getting a visit from Zuko and Azula, the end of the war. "Your Uncle took care of me. He made me a deal."

Zuko nodded. "That was what I had hoped. It was part of our plan for the ambush at the marina. But when you didn't come back, even after the war ended..."

"Oh, sure, and Azula would have welcomed me back with a hug and a peck on the cheek. Things between me and your sister didn't end well. If she even suspected I had betrayed her, my mother would have _really_ had something to cry about."

Zuko turned his face away, showing his scar, and moved further into the room. Mai noticed that he never actually turned his back on her, though. "Azula has... calmed down. She's learning how to be a real leader, without cruelty. Losing Ba Sing Se- losing you and Ty Lee- affected her."

Mai quirked an eyebrow. Azula actually missed her? Mai had no desire to regain that friendship, but if Zuko was right about Azula, then perhaps it really would be possible to retire from Iroh's service and go back to her homeland.

But she couldn't let Zuko know that, yet. She still had a mission to complete. "Then perhaps it's better that I'm dead. My parents have Tom-Tom and can safely mourn me. And Azula is a world leader now. Keeping her sane is good." She moved slowly, casually strolling across the bedroom in a way that would put her between Zuko and the door. If he wasn't going to let down his guard, then neither was she. "Whatever's going on in Yu Dao is just the opposite of sane. Your uncle is very disappointed in you, Zuko."

His face grew harder, and he turned a scowl on her. "I don't have to explain myself to _you._ I heard about everything you did in Ba Sing Se! You've lied, you've manipulated, and you've abandoned your family to go running off to play adventurer. I know why I'm doing all this, and you're probably the least trustworthy person I could share it with."

With that, Mai decided to throw off her blank exterior. After all the time they spent together as kids, all the horrible things Zuko had done, he was judging her? Letting her face twist into a scowl, she thrust a finger. "I did it for _you!_ I was loyal to Azula until she went after _you._ That's when I started telling my own lies and going all... _Azula_ on everything. And I found out I was really bad at it. I nearly got Sokka killed, I couldn't save you from your stupid self, and the Avatar wound up having to save my life. I'm here giving you a chance to prove you're not becoming Sozin all over again. You're the one playing games with the whole world."

"For me?" Zuko looked back at her with half a skeptical expression. "But Sokka said you pretended to be his friend. That you betrayed him!"

Mai half laughed, half snorted. "We all betrayed each other at one point or another. It's how we relate to each other. And then Sokka and I became friends anyway. Lies are just weapons like my knives, and I choose how they're used. I could have joined the Avatar and helped conquer the Fire Nation a year ago, or killed you and Azula for the greater good or something. But I found a way to not betray my nation. We hoped you did, too, when you helped end the war, but with all this going on..." She crossed her arms and gazed at Zuko through narrowed eyes. "I don't want to have to truly fight the Fire Nation. Justify that for me."

Zuko clenched his jaw and said nothing.

Mai sighed. "Let me start, then. There was a weapon being made here. Its creator, Fa Ming, suddenly died, his assistant disappeared, and both the weapon and all its research went missing. Immediately after that, you descend on poor little Yu Dao. And before you try to deny any connections, I _know_ your goons reported my interference at Fa Ming's funeral last night. His work was the key to all this, and I've seen firsthand the way you're dealing with it."

"So that _was_ you. But they weren't exactly-" Zuko stopped suddenly.

Mai quirked an eyebrow.

"That was a trap. You _tricked_ me." Zuko continued to stare. Finally, he said, "Uncle knows you're here?"

Mai nodded. "He's taught me a lot."

Zuko nodded as if expecting that, and waved Mai over. "Help me out of this armor. My advisors said I had to look 'strong' for my speech, but I don't really need it."

Mai smirked. "As my Prince Regent commands."

She stepped over and began untying his chestplate. As she worked, Zuko spoke. "The weapon began with my father. He had War Minister Qin start a new research program, and as part of that Fa Ming got an open commission to explore new ideas here in Yu Dao. When Uncle and the Avatar started their invasion, communications were disrupted all over and Qin lost track of the project. Then my fa- Ozai disappeared without formally abdicating, and Azula and I had to step up and make a deal to preserve the Fire Nation. It wasn't until the Harmony Restoration Movement was already going that Fa Ming reached out to us and revealed that he had completed a prototype weapon."

Fa Ming had initiated contact? Interesting. Mai crouched down and began untying Zuko's shin guards. "And he was going to give it to you?"

Zuko nodded. Mai set down the last plate in its stand and Zuko went over to sit down heavily on the bed. "He wouldn't reveal what it was. Said it was too dangerous to put any details even in our most secure communications. He wanted to deliver the weapon to me and Azula directly, and urged us to hide it away once we got it. We were arranging the details of the transfer, but then Fa Ming was killed. His assistant sent me a hawk immediately, and I brought soldiers to lock the city down. We can't let the weapon, or knowledge of it, leave the city."

"I don't get it, why wouldn't Fa Ming just destroy the weapon if it was such a big deal?" Mai wanted to keep her hands busy by playing with a blade, but decided that now that Zuko was only wearing his robes, it might be taken the wrong way. "And how do you know the weapon hasn't already left Yu Dao? Seems you're risking a lot on a vague hope."

"I know!" Zuko threw himself to lie back on the bed and flung a fist out towards the ceiling. A plume of flame shot up to heat the air. "We had to move quickly, and every day that goes by makes it more likely that the Avatar will wipe us out or this stupid weapon will be turned against us!"

"If it makes you feel better, I've met the Avatar, and he's not really the 'wiping out' type."

"Well, then the Earth King will try in his place! But there's still a chance." Zuko steadied his breathing, and sat up again. "After we got here, we got another communication from the assistant."

Finally! More information was good, but this was a real solid lead. "What did it say?"

"I'll show you." Zuko stood up again and went straight for the bedroom door. He opened it and leaned out to bark some orders at someone, and then turned back to Mai. "It will be here soon."

"Then in the meantime..." Mai could see that Zuko had changed, but he was still fundamentally _Zuko_. He couldn't keep a lid on his emotions, and he was still trying to do his best in confusing situations. At least, that was how it looked on the surface. Mai had to dig deeper. It was her job, for now. "Why don't you tell me if the ninja attack on Fa Ming's funeral had a specific mission objective, or if it was just a wild attempt to smoke out whoever has the weapon."

Zuko's scowl came back, but his eyes didn't focus on Mai. "That wasn't my idea. Azula appointed a commander to manage the search while I play politician. He thought that someone might have been trying to smuggle the weapon out of the city with the corpse, and I authorized him to investigate. Things went... further than I expected."

"It was a theory," a new, forceful voice said, "that we were unable to disprove." A big man in the uniform and armor of the Fire Army walked into the bedroom, a scroll clamped in his meaty hands. "My operatives were thwarted by very dangerous warriors, one of whom was described as a young lady who fought with knives." He looked over at Mai, and grinned widely.

His teeth were metal, and they were sharpened to points.

A shiver went up Mai's spine. She liked knives, but she also liked being able to take them off when she was done with them.

Zuko looked over at Mai and must have seen something in her face, because he turned a frown at the man. "Commander Baji, this is a private contractor who I've elected to bring into the search. She reports to me."

Baji's grin didn't waver. "The woman in the report was working with a dark-skinned young man. Coincidentally, someone matching that description was wandering around the mansion earlier tonight. I suppose he was really just a bumbling fool with no sense of direction and especially unfortunate timing?"

Mai wrenched control of her face and blanked out her expression. "No, my guess is that he was really an assassin. That's what happens when you illegally occupy a wealthy foreign city. Enemies just keep popping up. Congratulations on saving your Fire Regent from a desperate criminal, Commander. Now, I believe that scroll was for me?"

Baji handed it over, and as Mai took the paper, she thought she heard him clash his teeth together.

Zuko waved a hand. "That will be all, Commander."

"Of course, Prince Regent." With a minimal bow and one last glint of his teeth, he marched out of the room.

Mai had a feeling he was going to be trouble. She probably should have just stabbed him while she had the opportunity. Sighing at the missed chance, she unrolled the scroll and read its message:

"The weapon is still here. Its thief hunts me. I dare not show my face. I am a target, as Fa Ming was a target. His killer would see me dead, as would the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Only a true friend to Yu Dao would protect me, and only a true friend to Yu Dao can find me. I am in the heart of the old city. Bring gold, and detailed promises about how you will protect me. Long live the forge!"

Mai read it over again, and then handed it over to Zuko. "Well, that was a delightful mix of informative and creepy. How do you know it's from the assistant?"

"It was tied to the handle of an axe that was launched at my head from several blocks away." Zuko's face twisted as though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to find it disturbing or funny. "Mayor Morishita said that the assistant had worked on a long-distance axe launcher at the high point of her career, and that it was too impractical a design to ever become popular, so it was never mass-produced. Using one was like signing the note, I guess."

"Watch for flying axes when I approach. Got it."

Zuko blinked. "You know where she is?"

"No, but I'm very resourceful these days. I'll work on it, and hopefully you'll be able to take your army and go home soon."

Mai turned to go, but Zuko called out, "Wait! Is Baji right? Is Sokka really with you?"

Mai looked back at him. "I was sent out alone, but there's no telling who I'll run into. Avatar Aang wants peace as much as Iroh."

Zuko didn't visibly react. "And... is my uncle okay?"

"He is. He fixed up his tea shop and plays Pai Sho every day." Mai let a little smile show. "I think he enjoyed trying to civilize me, but he'd rather have you back. Oh, and _Jin_ says _hello._"

Zuko flushed red, and Mai was surprised that she found it more amusing than anything. Then Zuko looked down and the skin around his scar tightened. "I needed to save the Fire Nation. I still do. I need to take this weapon back home. Only I can guard it."

Mai raised her eyebrows. "Why not just destroy it? Its own creator sounded terrified of it."

He looked back up at her, and his gaze was steady. "Because someone else knows about it, now, and the Fire Nation might need the weapon. For defense. You understand."

Mai wasn't so sure, but then it was easy to be right in the abstract.

Zuko must have sensed her ambivalence. He looked up at her and said, "Mai, if Sokka is here... he was an honorable ally to me. I don't want to have him as an enemy. This is a matter just for us. For people of the Fire Nation."

"Haven't you heard? The Fire Nation thinks I'm dead." She went over to a little shrine he kept across from his bed, complete with candles. She picked one up, along with a pair of spark rocks that looked like they had never been used, and tucked it all into her sleeves. "And when it comes to honorable allies, I take personal offense if they get hurt. You don't want to see what happens when I take things personally."

Then she walked out on Zuko.

* * *

The party was starting to break up, and Mai still hadn't gotten back. Sokka hoped that she hadn't run into any trouble.

Kori had gone back to her father a while ago, so Sokka hung out at the edge the crowd and tried to avoid notice. Maybe it was because the guests were slowly leaving after Zuko's speech, but it seemed like the number of guards was increasing. Once Sokka thought to look, he realized that some of the guards were wearing different armor. There were fewer plates, and none of the pieces were painted red.

Either the guards were going to have an after-party pajama-party sleepover at Mayor Morishita's house, or special operations experts were being deployed throughout the hall.

Sokka really hoped it was the pajama party.

And then suddenly Mai was standing beside him, and Sokka practically jumped out of his fancy clothes. "Gah! Where did you come from?"

Mai turned a lazy look at him. "I have no idea. People tried to explain, but I just can't imagine my parents doing something like that. Maybe I popped out of a cabbage."

"Cute. So, Operation: Goldeneye?"

"I ran into an old friend with gold eyes, yes, and we had a talk. I got lots of juicy gossip from him."

"Good." Sokka looked around, and noticed even more of the black-armor soldiers. "I think it's about time we should be going, then."

Mai nodded. "Yeah, I see them, too. By the way, Metal Teeth Guy- who doesn't seem to be entirely agreeable with my old friend- knows who you are. I get the feeling that he's not properly leashed."

Sokka was afraid of that. Nothing good ever came of running into people who had turned parts of their bodies into weapons. Ever.

He started towards the exit, and Mai followed. Out of corner of his eyes, Sokka caught the special guards drifting in the same direction, and drawing closer together. "Run?"

Mai's hand disappeared into her sleeves, and came out holding a pair of her razor discs. "Run."

They dashed forward, weaving through the sparse crowd, and Sokka cries of surprise rose out the people. He also heard a heavy voices shout, "Get them!" He was pretty sure that didn't come from a party guest.

Several of the guards converged in front of them, and then Sokka heard the whistle of blades spinning through the air.

He ran on without slowing.

* * *

It took a while, but Longshot had yet to find the upper limits of his patience. He watched for two hours from his rooftop vantage point next door to the mansion, and only after most of the guests had already left did he finally spot Sokka and Mai's exit. They came bursting out of the mansion's front entrance at a run, and right after them came a stream of chasing guards.

Well, that wasn't what he had expected.

Longshot considered doing something to help them, if they had gotten themselves on the Fire Regent's bad side. On the other hand, he didn't want to give himself away. Only two people in the entire world knew he was in Yu Dao.

Then he spotted Mai doing something that produced a spot of light in her hand, and she _threw_ the light-

Then something across the street from her exploded.

Longshot's senses took several moments to recover from the sudden light and sound, but then he quickly realized what was happening.

Fireworks. Mai had set off a supply of fireworks. She had probably set them up before she went into the party as a ready distraction.

Longshot looked over at the Morishita mansion again, and while he saw the guards all rubbing their eyes and starting a search, Sokka and Mai were completely lost to his sight.

Very capable of them.

Longshot set off across the rooftops, running and jumping like he was back in the forest. The show at the mansion was apparently over, and he had to meet up with his friends.

* * *

Back at Sneers' home, sitting with the rest of their little brain trust in parlor, Mai didn't share all the details of her conversation with Zuko, or even that there had been a long, mostly peaceful conversation at all. Sneers and Kori didn't need to know that, and she could tell Sokka later.

She did reveal that she had gotten a good look at the note from Fa Ming's assistant, and what it said.

Kori smiled when she heard the words. "The 'heart of the _old_ city,' huh?"

Sokka stood up and clapped his hands together. "You know what that is? You sound like you know what that is. Please know what that is."

Kori leaned back in her seat. "I may be wrong, but it sounds like something I read about. Before the Fire Nation conquered this province, Yu Dao was just a glorified mining camp. My mother's people recorded a history of their ways, so that they wouldn't lose their culture. There was a reference to a 'heart' in there, but it's kind of obscure. And a little jokey."

Mai rolled her eyes. "It's always jokey. Well, it's the only thing we have to go on. What is it?"

Kori told them.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	5. The Man with the Golden Doomsday Weapon

**The Man with the Golden Doomsday Weapon**

In the wan light of dawn, Mai thought that Sokka looked almost as gloomy as she did. "What's with you? We're trapped in a city under siege, a commander in the Fire Army is going rogue and trying to kill us, world war is imminent, and we're on the trail of a weapon so scary that even its creator was terrified to use it. This is fun stuff."

Sokka gave her an arch look. "You mean stressful slush. But mostly I just hate mornings. I prefer to wake up just in time for a big lunch."

Mai stopped where she had been walking, right in the middle of the street, causing the dour pedestrians of the working district to swerve around her. Sleeping until _noon?_ "I didn't even know that was possible. It sounds wonderful."

"Trust me, it's one of life's true pleasures. We still have time to try it, you know. We can go back to Sneers' place, sleep to noon, and then come out here and risk our lives looking for the crazy assistant person who sends messages attached to flying axes."

"Tempting, but I already did my hair this morning. I'm not doing it all again just to try out your weird all-morning nap idea." Thinking about it a bit more, Mai might have given in if she would be allowed to change back into red clothes. She was wearing brown for today's jaunt, on Kori's theory that something excessively Fire Nation would stand out too much in the neighborhood they were visiting, and Mai's features were a little too "pure" to get away with greens in broad daylight. Sokka was wearing a mix of greens and yellows and browns, and both of their outfits were worn enough that Mai would have thrown them out if she had found them in her wardrobe.

She had very purposefully not asked Sneers where he had gotten them.

Sokka said something else, but his words were lost in the sound of hammering metal emanating from the building they were passing. Mai leaned closer to him. "What?"

Sokka, too, moved close and spoke directly into her ear. "I said that according to Kori's directions, we take a left up here."

Mai nodded to acknowledge that, and accidentally bumped her head against Sokka's. "Ow."

"What?"

"_I said ow!_"

"Ow, my ears. You don't have to shout."

"That wasn't funny."

"I know," Sokka shouted with a smirk, "but I wanted to say it anyway."

For some reason, that did get Mai to smile, even though it was less funny than the previous attempt at humor. Something about Sokka's expression made it all the more amusing than it deserved to be. Mai almost leaned against Sokka, but then she remembered that they weren't doing the Lovers scheme this time.

They made their left turn at the designated corner, and moved away from the big weapon assembly factories. Here, there were a mix of buildings: small residences, stables, empty work yards, and open-air shops. The roads weren't the intricately interlocked bricks of the better neighborhoods, but rather the tightly packed (most likely by Earthbenders) dirt paths that could be found throughout the Earth Kingdom. Every so often a brick was sticking out of the road, lone islands that were all that remained of attempts to 'civilize' Yu Dao's downtown.

Sokka, of course, tripped over one of the bricks. Mai grabbed his arm before he hit the ground, and once he regained his balance, said "So, uh, how have you been?"

"What?" Sokka turned and gave her a look that was unexpectedly quizzical.

"What?"

"Wh- I mean, what are you asking me?"

Mai frowned. "How? Have? You? Been? You know, a general inquiry about the state of your life and your feelings thereon? I've been distracted, but friends ask those kinds of things... unless Ty Lee has been messing with me, and she's really not the type."

Sokka was still looking at her like she had just declared a devotion to a vegetarian diet, but he replied, "I guess I've been okay. I've been running around a lot, either following Aang and Katara or taking care of stuff they're too busy or idealistic to handle. But you know this."

Mai gave a heavy sigh. "I guess I just wanted to know if you're happy. Things didn't work out with Suki, and-"

Sokka gave a quick laugh. "Did she put you up to this? Or Ty Lee? Really, Mai, I'm fine. It's a shame Suki and I didn't work out, but we were, like, axe-fish from different currents. Being together was nice, but trying to keep that going would have made us unhappy, so we ended things before there was a real problem. People do that all the time. The axe-fish should try it. I miss having a girlfriend, but I do like what I'm doing. After the Fire Regents signed the treaty and ended the war, I went back home- to the South Pole- and... I just couldn't stay there, you know? It was the same old hunting and fixing the watchtower and watching for ice build-up in the commode- and that's not _bad_, I liked that life, I think- but it just felt so... slow."

"_That_, I can understand." Mai felt a smirk growing on her face. "Now you know why I followed Azula around."

Sokka shuddered. "It wasn't _that_ slow. But by going with Aang, I can see the world and learn more about how it works, with the people I... you know, (ahem), like or love or whatever. Learn about politics and science and cooking and stuff. And when I'm doing stuff like _this_, with you, I can be the warrior I was born to be. For as long as I can do it, I like my life."

Mai tried to find some wisdom for herself in that, but all she could sift out of it was that she needed hobbies, and Ty Lee was an awful person for abandoning Mai in favor of the circus _again_. "Well, I... approve of your happiness. It's rational and has nothing to do with terrorizing people who don't deserve it."

"Exactly! See, that's what I really like about you, you _get it._"

They crossed a road, skirted a yard where a woman was dipping skins into boiling pots, and found a wide dumping ground in front of them. A thin man was sorting through the garbage, and as Mai watched, he made a happy sound and pulled out a twisted piece of metal from the clutter. He threw it into a pile of nails and broken axe heads with a clang and went back to digging.

"Well," Sokka said, "there's the old junkyard Kori described to us."

The thin man heard them, and brushed aside his green poncho to give them two thumbs up. "There's sixty years of garbage in here! Sure, it's picked over, but I gots a feeling I'll scrap e'nuf for an apple!" His face grew grim, and he added, "Only no takin' my claim, or Ima have to shank ya."

Behind Mai, there was a clank of armor, and a patrolling Firebender soldier passing on the other side of the road took a step towards the junkyard.

Mai gave a dismissive wave. "Please, don't bother on our account. We're just slumming with no productive purpose whatsoever, and this charming man isn't bothering us." The scavenger went back to ignoring them, and after one last lingering glare, the soldier moved on. Mai kept her face blank throughout the whole little scene, but there was a disturbing quality to it beneath the surface. Apparently, Zuko's distribution of food was no better than the city's regular economy, if people in this kind of neighborhood were questioning the source of their next dinner, and the Fire Army was taking its policing duties very seriously. This was the type of combination that could quickly lead to a self-sustaining wave of riots.

There was more to the Fire Nation, it seemed, than bored heiresses and the danger of war.

Putting the matter out of her mind for now, Mai turned back to Sokka to find him directing his gaze up and away. When he spoke, he sounded distracted. "Okay, so we're at the junkyard, and the outer wall is over _there_, so the place we're looking for should be-" He raised his arms and angled them like a compass at a precise angle.

Mai had to admit to herself that she was glad for Sokka's help, here. Finding her way like this wasn't one of her strengths. She preferred line-of-sight, for a variety of reasons.

"-be right _there!_" Sokka pointed again, and then jogged off in that direction. Mai followed, mimicking his precise path around the shacks and dilapidated buildings. Some of the pedestrians they passed gave them looks, but no one pursued the matter. Finally, Sokka stopped short and gave one last pointing. "And at last we arrive."

The building he indicated could have been a stable, low in stature and wider than the structures around it. The wood of its walls had faded to something that was closest to gray, and enough dirt had accumulated around its base to form dunes. Somehow, a shadow of the original paint had survived a century of Fire Nation rule, and Mai's sharp eyes could just barely make out the remnants of a pink heart on the front door. She glanced at Sokka and said, "That is the most pathetic-looking brothel of all time."

Sokka scratched his head. "It _has_ been out of business for longer than my dad's been alive. Why, have you seen a lot of pathetic brothels?"

Mai tried to imagine what an affronted lady would say to that, but all she had to go on was either memories of Azula brushing her bangs aside while delivering a threat, or lessons from her mother about angling her hips and sniffing with disdain. Mai elected to just cross her arms. "That was an incredibly rude thing for a boy to say to a girl."

"Sorry, just another not-funny thing I felt I had to get out. You're easily the classiest lady I know." Sokka bowed low and motioned at the building. "Shall we, milady?"

Mai snorted, and together they approached 'the heart of the old city' or, as Kori described it, the brothel that had serviced the original Yu Dao mining and smithing outpost. Then the Fire Nation had comes along and tried to force 'civilization' on the place, decreeing that no one with native blood was allowed to own a business anymore. It took a generation for that law to be quietly removed, but all too many had already lost their livelihood by then.

Sokka reached for the front door, but Mai caught his wrist just in time. "Wait."

"What?"

"Remember? Flying axes?"

"Oh. Yeah. Um, do you have a strategy for approach?"

Mai smirked. "I do." A flex of her wrists dropped a razor disk into each of her hands. She threw them in arcs that smashed through two of the paper-covered windows on either side of the front door. More razor disks quickly crashed through more windows, and before all of them had finished their flight, Mai landed a flying jump kick into the door that knocked it off its hinges and sent her rolling into the building. A human figure within broke into motion towards something that looked like a trebuchet, but Mai was ready with a flurry of _bo shuriken_needles that nailed the person to the nearest wall.

Behind Mai, Sokka peeked his head into the shack. "Wow. That is officially going to be my approach strategy for every building I ever encounter until the day I die. Who do you have there?"

Mai looked back over at the person she had nailed to a wall. It was a woman, perhaps the same age as Mai's mother, and she wore the same shades of brown that Mai currently did. Her clothes must have been better quality than Mai's outfit, though, considering how well it was all staying together despite the way she was tugging against the needles. She was focused entirely on the problem of her captivity, rather than the people who did it to her.

Mai knew the type well. Her father was an accomplished engineer. "Fa Ming's assistant, I presume?"

The other thing engineers are slaves to is ego. The woman looked up at Mai and managed to muster a good glare, despite her position. "My name is Wu Gi. And yes, I worked with Fa Ming on his last project. Who are you, may I ask?"

Sokka sauntered over. "You may ask, and I will answer. I'm Sokka, good friend to the Avatar and- at the risk of giving you too much information for the sake of being all trustful with each other- brother of the girl he has the oogies for." He gave a little wave, and then clasped his hands behind his back. "That's Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, by the way. So I'm really not big on wars, on account of my people preferring to avoid them until we actually have enough warriors to fight one properly. This is Mai, she's a good friend and general do-gooder. Her brother isn't dating anyone important- that I know of, anyway, but he's only a toddler so I consider it a remote possibility for now. She works for the people who give the Avatar wise advice when he needs it, so, you know, her credentials are pretty good, too. Her brother's lack of a love life notwithstanding. We want to talk to you about stopping a war from breaking out for want of a weapon. You game?"

By the end of the introduction, Wu Gi was blinking in something like shock, and Mai didn't feel that far behind her. That was the most intense opening spiel she had ever heard, and she used to be Azula's left-hand lackey and live in a city with Fire Lord 'Grand Conqueror of the Self-Promoting Speech' Ozai.

Finally, Wu Gi found herself again and said, "Um, nice to meet you. If we're going to talk, I need my diagrams. Perhaps you can-" She motioned with her chin at the needles pinning her to the wall.

Mai sighed and began extracting her.

* * *

Sokka waited while Mai got Wu Gi mobile again and, after some grumbling over clothing repairs, gave a little bow. "Sorry about that. We were worried that you had an axe-launcher ready to go and aimed at the front door." He pointedly did not look at the device- already loaded with two axes- standing in the middle of the room.

Wu Gi shrugged. "I hadn't gotten it into position yet. The sharp discs coming through the windows distracted me. Is it safe for me to approach the device? There's something under it I need to get to so that we can have our discussion."

Mai shifted slightly, and suddenly she was holding a razor disc in each hand. "Very slowly, and very carefully."

Sokka tried a conciliatory smile. "Mai has a good heart, but she takes her job seriously. Just humor her." At least he didn't have to worry about hurting Mai's feelings with talk like that. He knew for a fact that she loved playing 'bad guard' to his 'good guard.'

Wu Gi moved _very_ slowly, and when she reached the axe-launcher she crouched down and pressed one of the wooden boards in the floor beneath it.

The building rumbled, and the wall in the back of the room slid aside to reveal a set of stairs going underground.

Sokka had to admit, it was no steam-powered Air Temple, but it was more than he expected. "Nice. I gotta get me a secret hideout. Did you do it yourself?"

"No, it's part of the history of this place." Wu Gi led the way down the stairs. "When the Fire Nation took over the original Yu Dao settlement and outlawed Earth-folk from owning businesses, the guy running the place turned it into a home big enough for his whole 'family', and literally moved the operation underground. This was before the mines were made more extensive, and the city expanded out over them. Back then, an Earthbender could dig a hole without worrying about collapsing an old mine and taking out a city block."

They emerged down in a large workshop that looked very much in use. Diagrams and sketches covered the walls, and the tables were covered in small mechanisms, both complete and in varying states of disassembly. Glowing green crystals poked out from the ceiling, and Sokka surveyed the place in the sickly light. "Hey, now _that's_ a spring collection. Good range of gears, too." He walked over to one setup that contained pans and lots of glass vials. Each of their corks was inked with symbols that Sokka knew corresponded to various kinds of acids. "Well, aside from the lack of ventilation. I'm surprised you're fooling around with acids and vapors without proper air flow. How did you get a hold of this place?"

"It belongs to the same lady who owns the scrapyard down the path. I've always worked as a subordinate to one of the city's Master Engineers, and I decided I needed a place where I could work on my proprietary designs. The rent on this place is cheap, thanks to the neighborhood, and I've got so much Yu Dao in my blood that I don't mind the location."

Sokka glanced over to Mai, and was pleased to find her seemingly okay with being underground. To his eye, she naturally blended with the shadows and dim lighting. She noticed him looking at her, and gave a little nod.

Taking it as a sign to continue, Sokka turned back to Wu Gi. "So, about this weapon?"

The engineer nodded and moved to one of the diagram clusters on the walls. She pulled down some smaller notes, revealing a large schematic the likes of which Sokka had seen before. The Mechanist of the Northern Air Temple had produced blueprints like these, summarizing the design of a device and listing its major components.

Beside Sokka, Mai spoke up. "It's... a pipe? For smoking?"

Wu Gi turned around and gave Mai a wide-eyed stare. "A _pipe?_ That's what you see?"

"Well, it's long, and this end here is shaped like a dragon's head. Looks like the fancy pipes they have in the Fire Nation."

Sokka looked closer at the diagram. "No, it's not a pipe. See this bit here? Looks like the stock of a heavy crossbow, doesn't it? Yeah, and there's the trigger. Exactly like a crossbow, except with a blade built into the underside for what I presume to be defense in close quarters, which is actually a good idea." He glanced over at Wu Gi. "But a sculpted dragon head on the other end? Kind of fancy for a prototype, isn't it?"

She scoffed like Katara in one of her moods. "When designing for the Fire Lord, a little extra effort is never wasted."

Well, Sokka couldn't argue with that. He traced his finger along the schematics, letting them soak into his brain. "So if the scale is accurate, that's a pretty long tube coming out the other end. Presuming we're launching a ballistic of some kind, why would you need a barrel that long? ..._oh_, it's like a cannon, isn't it? You need the length to stabilize and guide the projectile. So, what, this is a miniature cannon?"

She was beaming. Sokka had the uncomfortable feeling that he had looked similar the time he explained how he helped fix the war balloon design at the Northern Air Temple. "That's the principle. This is the 'Fire Arm.' It loads specially prepared capsules containing gunpowder and a metal projectile. The trigger sparks the gunpowder, shooting the ballistic through the barrel and out the mouth of the dragon sculpture. The range is superior to the biggest longbow, with far greater accuracy, but reloads as quick as a crossbow. All you do is stuff the ammo capsule down the muzzle. When fired, the ballistic travels fast enough to punch through most plate armors, and even if it doesn't penetrate, the force will be enough to possibly break bone. With no armor to stop it, it will travel through flesh without appreciably slowing down, and will utterly shatter bone. The full range of effects cannot be determined until more extensive testing is done, though."

Sokka wasn't sure at what point during that speech his jaw dropped, nor when the icy feeling settled into his stomach and spine. He just knew that he was horrified. "That's... that's ridiculous! Those are ridiculous results! Why would even you make something like this?"

Wu Gi shrugged. "The Fire Lord contracted us to build something light, powerful, far-reaching, and easy to produce and use. Fa Ming came up with the idea, and together we made the device a reality."

Sokka shook his head, trying to clear out the stuffed, cottony feeling that had grown to fill his skull. "No, that's- how could this be easy to use? Cannons have to be cleaned between use, and finding the range- how can you shoot something so small so accurately?"

"Good design. The projectiles are pointed like arrowheads, and the metal expands after firing, so it cleans the barrel with each shot. Trust me, it works. Our tests more than proved that much."

Sokka turned back to the schematics. They hadn't been kidding when they said the weapon was a danger to the whole world. The Fire Arm. Anyone who armed their soldiers with it would have an advantage over every kind of warrior around. They could sit on the horizon and fire away at an approaching army, or turn every soldier into a sniper who could make the Yu Yan hang up their bows and retire. Even rock couldn't stand up to what was being described. Tanks could, but Wu Gi was talking about the _prototype_. What might future generations of this technology accomplish? And as Sokka had seen his sister prove, tanks weren't invincible, either.

And sure enough, Sokka was certain that the very idea was equally dangerous. Just hearing these vague details, he knew he could figure out how to build something like this. Slush, the name itself would probably inspire the Mechanist to reinvent the thing.

He dimly heard Mai asking, "So what happened to the prototype?"

"Stolen." Wu Gi's voice dimmed to match Sokka's mood. "And used to kill Fa Ming."

A little flash of insight broke into his thoughts. "That's right... Sneers said people reported a sound like thunder, but it wasn't, was it? That was the gunpowder. It probably sounded more like a firecracker. Easy enough to confuse, I guess."

"Fa Ming and I had secured the prototype in its crate a week before he died. We were cleaning up all the documentation and scrap work, making sure that we didn't leave anything behind that could be used to reverse engineer another Fire Arm. We didn't look in the crate all that time. Someone must have stolen it, because one day Fa Ming and I left, and he was shot in the street by his own invention. The description doesn't leave any doubt. He moved as if struck by something heavy. That's the momentum of the projectile at work. And then he bled to death from a deep wound. That proves it was our projectile. When I heard, I went back to the lab, and sure enough it was ransacked, everything gone. If I didn't have my own copies of everything, I wouldn't be able to prove the weapon even existed!"

Wu Gi began pacing around the lab. "I was going to destroy it all once the prototype was delivered to the Fire Regents, but then the trouble started- they all want us dead for this! The Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom- they've stolen our work! They've united to hunt us down. I won't be killed for this! I was doing my job, doing good engineering! I won't let the world destroy me for this! I deserve praise, not a hideout!"

The increasing loudness of her ranting cleared Sokka's head much more effectively than his own efforts. "Well, we know what we're looking for, now. Aside from vague global conspiracies, do you have any idea who could have found out about this?"

"If I did, I'd build another prototype and blow them away, just to be sure." Wu Gi turned and began stomping up the stairs to the old brothel. "_You_ need to get me out of the city. Or bring the Avatar to get me out. The knife-woman there can be my bodyguard."

Sokka trotted upstairs after her, and he heard the soft swish of robes that meant Mai was right behind him. "Hey, wait! My job is to find this Fire Arm thing first! If we do that, Zuko and everyone won't have any reason to come after you! And we get the bonus of avoiding another war!"

Wu Gi huffed as she stomped back over to the axe-launcher. She bent over and pressed the same floorboard as before, closing the secret passage right behind Mai, and then stood back up to glare at Sokka. "I don't care what your mission is! Just- kill Zuko or whoever you have to! We don't have time for searching around! Don't you understand, I can _make_ you a Fire Arm if you want one! Just get me out of here!"

Sokka was about to argue back when he heard a distant boom like someone had set off a lone firecracker, and Wu Gi suddenly jolted in place.

Her face went slack, and she looked over at Sokka with wide eyes. "Fascinating... it doesn't hhhurt..."

"Wha-"

And then she dropped and began bleeding all over the floor.

* * *

Sokka immediately went down to try and help the crazy engineer woman, but Mai's skills could better be applied elsewhere- like hunting down the person who just used the Fire Arm to kill another of its inventors. She looked down at Wu Gi just long enough to find the wound, a hole in right side of her upper back, and then applied her own experience to determine the vantage that would have favored that exact point of anatomy.

Mai was very good at vectors.

Only one of the building's windows would have been facing Wu Gi's back at the right angle. Outside was a view of the neighborhood shacks, pedestrians milling with confusion in the roads, but atop a roof in the distance was a figure standing tall with the sun to his back. The silhouette was wearing a rice hat, and cradled something long, thin, and reflectively shiny in its arms.

Mai was somersaulting through the window in a second and threaded the crowd. She pulled out two of her heavier knives as she ran to the nearest shack, and then applied them to the wooden walls as a quick means of climbing up while people cried out and rushed away. She threw herself onto the shack's roof and readied her knives for throwing, but found the figure running off into the distance.

Too far.

What Mai wouldn't give for a Fire Arm right now.

She tore off after the fleeing figure, sailing across the rooftops in a loping run. The assassin was very good, his own speed impressive considering the unusual terrain, but Mai had plenty of experience with a variety of rooftops, and she had also practiced her running, ever since the Avatar escaped her in Omashu. That he was an ally now didn't mean that Mai still didn't need to be fast. Her foot came down heavily on one roof, and Mai barely caught some shouting burst out from within before it was lost to the wind of her passage.

As soon as she got close enough, Mai let fly with some razor discs. They spun and arced towards the assassin, but he somehow knew to twirl around at the last minute and raise his weapon like a shield, presenting the sword-like blade set into the Fire Arm's underside.

All but one of the razor discs went around him, and the last bounced off the Fire Arm with a clank of metal and a flash of gold sparkle.

Who put gold plating on a stupid prototype, anyway? Mai's father would be professionally offended.

Mai might not have tagged the assassin, but dodging meant he had to stop his running, and she made good use of the opportunity. Mai threw another pair of knives that the assassin once again blocked with the Fire Arm, but each maneuver made him take a step back-

-until he took one step beyond the edge of the roof.

The assassin fell without a sound.

Mai raced after him, pulled another pair of knives, and jumped down into the trapezoidal alley between shacks without hesitation. She caught sight of some people running away from the sight of her, but Mai focused her attention on her prey. He was already getting back to his feet, and Mai had to admit to herself that she was impressed; this guy knew how to take abuse. Time to see if he knew how to take a blade to his soft unyielding flesh.

Then from behind her, Mai heard a scratchy voice call out, "Longshot, I'm here!"

She whirled around and found the most awful looking ragamuffin bearing down on her. The new arrival had a short sword in each hand, and each running step jostled a vest of leather armor. Mai would have heard such an approach even if the attacker hadn't called out, but she appreciated the extra warning, and expressed that by throwing herself forward to catch the incoming sword slices on her own knives and push back with enough strength to send the other into a short stumble.

Mai's eyes were sharp enough to catch- as she and the attacker both repositioned for another clash- a thin bit of lip dye between the lines of war paint on the otherwise completely unfeminine face.

This was a girl?

Huh.

The swordswoman attacked again, one sword after another in an attempt to overwhelm Mai's defenses, but as she had just proven, Mai was very good at vectors. She caught one sword with her knives and pushed it off so that it interfered with the other's approach, leeching a small bit of the momentum to quickly spin herself around to face the swordswoman's back. Mai threw her knives; one hit the target's armor and bounced off, while the other was deflected by a hastily raised sword.

Fair enough. Mai wasn't expecting them to do more than distract at this range.

Knife-throwing was Mai's preferred method of combat because she didn't have to get close to her target. It avoided the mess of a brawl, and made sure that Mai remained safe while her target was very much the opposite. That she was exceptionally good at throwing things accurately was just a bonus. But sometimes a fight was not content to give Mai her space, and other times she had to conceal her identity and so couldn't wage war like one of the greatest living (_self-taught_) practitioners of the Flying Daggers style.

After joining Iroh's little organization, Mai had taken a few days' vacation to prepare for such situations, with the help of a man named Piandao.

The current situation didn't favor throwing knives, so while her attacker scrambled to get back into a proper stance, Mai flicked a small razor into a hand, sliced off the left leg of her own pants just above the knee, and then used both hands to draw out the short sword that the Mechanist had given her, which Mai had been wearing tied to her leg since before she trapped herself in Yu Dao.

Mai thrust in at the swordswoman, sending the other hopping back at the sight of the unexpected weapon. What followed was a frantic exchange of stabs, slices, parries and catches. Mai didn't quite manage to penetrate her attacker's double-bladed defense, but neither did she allow any hits to get through her own. She started giving ground, letting the swordswoman think that Mai was slowly becoming overwhelmed, and when she judged the time just right, Mai let go of her weapon with one hand and used it to draw another knife- the beautiful, well-made bone knife that Sokka had given her outside the city- out of her robes. She parried the swordswoman's latest stab with her own sword, and then spun around to stab the knife into the other's right arm just below the metal shoulder guard.

It sank into flesh and muscle like it belonged there. The swordswoman cried out and wrenched away, sending the knife tumbling out of Mai's hand in a small spray of blood.

"Smellerbee!"

Oh, right. The assassin.

Mai didn't know what a Smellerbee was or if its honey was any good, but she knew that the assassin had a Fire Arm, and decided that now was a very good time to be anywhere else but her current position. She threw herself to the side-

-and then some invisible force struck Mai like a ten-ton flying bison.

She crashed to the ground, hitting it hard enough to rattle her whole body, and in her daze wondered if she had become an Airbender, given the way the alley was echoing with a sound like a firecracker.

Oh, yeah, the Fire Arm. It was supposed to be loud, right?

Pain finally began registering with Mai. Her right thigh was on fire, it seemed. Mai looked down and saw that a chunk of her pants had been ripped away, revealing a bloody gash creasing the skin.

Hallowed ash, that was a _grazing_ hit?!

Mai heard a clicking sound behind her, and she glanced over to see the assassin aiming the Fire Arm at her once again. She rolled as quickly as she could, and it was almost too slow. All at once there was the crack of the weapon firing, a clang like two pieces of metal meeting like mating Airbenders in midair, and then her sword was torn from her grip.

It was half out of panic that she raised her arms and fired off an entire wrist-cuff's worth of crescent blades. Only a quarter of them found a home in the assassin, but no sooner had they hit than he blinked and was dropped to the ground by the soporific shirshu venom. The Fire Arm clattered to rest in the dust, glinting with the golden light of the sun.

"Longshot!"

Did these people communicate entirely in nonsensical exclamations? Mai twisted again to find the odd-looking swordswoman bearing down on her. She briefly considered trying to dodge, but after that sudden movement to save herself from the Fire Arm, the pain coming from her thigh suddenly had a much greater voice in the proceedings. So, instead, she quickly shouted, "I poisoned him!"

The swordswoman stopped short.

Mai pressed on with all the air left in her lungs: "In an hour he'll be dead unless you get him to a healer who knows antidotes. I don't carry it with me. And I promise that I will not die quickly for you, no matter what you do." To that end, Mai drew another set of knives from her robes and brandished them in a vaguely defensive way.

The swordswoman took exactly a second to decide. The face she made promised a painful death at a future unspecified date, if Mai was any judge of hostile expressions, and then she scurried over to her companion. She hoisted him over her shoulders, grabbed the Fire Arm, and took off at a respectable run.

Mai let out a heavy breath and dropped her knives.

Okay, the next thing on her suddenly daunting To Do list was to get standing again so that she could find Sokka. Her leg was still bleeding, but not with the heavy rush that would have meant something vital had been hit. Mai dragged herself over to the pants leg she had cut off to get to her sword, and turned that into an improvised bandage. She took a moment after that to just enjoy being in one piece, even as filthy as she was with dirt and blood, and resolved to ask the Mechanist about some armors she could wear under her clothes where she didn't otherwise have knives secreted. Maybe there wasn't anything that could have stopped a shot from the Fire Arm, but they couldn't all be apocalyptic weapons, and a grazing blow was proving to more trouble than the matter should be worth.

Then there was the crunch of boots on dirt, and Mai realized that she was about to have company. She grabbed for her knives again, and prepared to spin a tale about _really_ obscure poison that would send the swordswoman running away again.

A dozen Fire Army soldiers jogged into the alley and took up positions surrounding her. Eleven of them raised spears at the ready, while the commander took a Firebending stance.

Mai gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you. I was on my way home and was attacked. They got my leg but I chased them off. Can you help me up? I live a few blocks away, building with a pink heart on it."

The Firebender removed the skull-like mask on the helmet, revealing a hard-looking woman with eyes that weren't sympathetic at all. "I recognize you."

Mai sighed again. "Yes, all right. I'm an agent for Prince Regent Zuko. My mission is secret, but I was injured pursuing enemies of the Fire Nation. Now can you help me up?"

"Commander Baji provided a sketch. He wants you for questioning."

"He can submit a formal request to the Fire Regents."

"The Commander prefers not to bother the Fire Regent Zuko with the details of his investigations." The Firebender made a hand motion, and Mai raised her knives in anticipation of fire, but the wooden shaft of a spear swung out from beside Mai and knocked the weapons out of her grip. Mai tried to reach for more, but there was another sound of whistling wind against wood, an explosion of pain at the back of her head, and after a nauseating riot of color (orange figured prominently) an overwhelming darkness.

Her last thought was that at least Sokka was free and safe.

* * *

Mai woke up slowly. The first thing of which she became aware was the companion that had stayed close to her throughout her sleep, something she had felt even in the void. It was the pain, the constant scraping soreness on her thigh.

Her souvenir from the barking touch of Fire Arm.

Using the pain as a trail back to consciousness, Mai next discovered her old acquaintance gravity, who she had always considered a professional rival to Ty Lee. Fortunately, gravity didn't hold a grudge over that, despite Ty Lee practically being family, and politely let Mai know that she was currently lying on her back on something hard.

She tried to move, but there was resistance- too much for mere gravity. Applying more strength didn't produce any results, and Mai eventually figured out that she was bound by leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles.

She was captured.

Mai opened her eyes, but that didn't help. The room around her was dark, aside from a small lantern that shed only enough light for Mai to see her own body lying stretched out on a wooden table of some kind. The lantern had been placed near her feet, but not near enough that Mai could kick out to so much as rattle it.

Well, this was mildly embarrassing, and the best weapon to use against embarrassment was aggressive bluster. Taking a breath to steady herself, Mai called out, "Well, this is original. Let me guess, you expect me to talk?"

She heard heavy footsteps, and then Commander Baji emerged into the light. He leered over her, grinning with teeth that glinted dully.

"No, Lady Mai, I expect you to die."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	6. You Only Explode Twice

**You Only Explode Twice**

One world on the brink of war.

One Earth Kingdom army marching to Yu Dao.

One horrifying weapon in the hands of assassins.

One engineer's assistant dead in her hideout.

And one dangerous, funny, powerful, loyal, secretive, lonely woman missing.

Sokka had failed to save Wu Gi's life, but he didn't really blame himself for that like he did for Yue's death because there was only so much a guy who couldn't Waterbend- or, more specifically, Waterheal- could do about a hemorrhaging wound. Wu Gi had died quickly, and he barely had any time to regret that before he rushed out of the former brothel to see if he could find the assassin, or at least the Fire Arm weapon used to do the deed. When Sokka rushed outside into the dusty Yu Dao downtown, though, there was nothing to see but a confused crowd and a gathering of inquisitive soldiers. Sokka looked back at them. "Um, anyone see a mysterious killer person carrying what looks like the biggest and fanciest mistweed pipe ever run away followed by a crazy knife woman who isn't really crazy but just sometimes looks that way with really shiny hair?"

The crowd stared back.

One young lady pointed behind her. "I kind of saw people who kind of looked like that kind of run thataway?"

A Firebender soldier pushed through the crowd. "What's this about mysterious killers and crazy knife women? Has there been violence?"

Another soldier, this one armed with a spear, slipped out of another spot in the crowd. "Did I hear explosions? Or was that fireworks? What's going on here?"

A man in green robes shoved out of the crowd and brandished a tray hanging from his neck. "Anyone here want to buy sausages? Hot and sizzling, made from fresh iguana-dogs!"

Sokka ignored all of them and pointed in the opposite direction of the young lady, shouting, "Is that a 400-foot-tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings?"

Everyone turned to look.

Sokka ran away.

He plunged into the press of people and, just like back on Ember Island a year ago except this time he wasn't naked, was glad of his lanky build. He threaded through people with a minimal amount of rude bumping because he was nice that way, at times even dropping down and crawling when things got too thick to run through. That got him away from the soldiers, which was a good thing since there was no telling who was with Zuko and who was doing the dirty work of that metal-mouthed Baji guy, but there was absolutely no way to track Mai's path through the crowd. Well, no way without asking. Judging himself far enough away from the original scene, Sokka turned to a barrel-chested man. "Hey, I'm looking for a friend. Scary, runs on rooftops, brandishes knives as a matter of course?"

The man pointed.

Sokka jogged off again, trying to fit in with the thin pedestrian traffic now that he was away from the scene of the murder and the assembly of gawkers. He went a short distance before stopping and asking again after Mai, but three people in a row had no idea what he was talking about.

Uh oh.

Sokka circled back again, looking for a sign, and practically stumbled over a spot of blood in the middle of an oddly shaped space between several buildings.

When he saw the blood, a big wet patch with a deep impression like a body had been lying there, he did stumble.

He was back on his feet quickly, looking around for signs. He found the knives first, and yeah, they were definitely Mai's. Sokka stuffed them into his belt, and kept looking. Next he found a short sword, _really_ good quality, but the blade was damaged: there was a pockmark in the flat of the blade filled by what looked like a malformed metal ball.

His stomach flipped when he realized he was looking at the work of the Fire Arm.

Then Sokka's eyes fell on something else, and this time his stomach almost quit and went home.

It was another knife lying in the dirt, but not one made of metal.

It was _his_ knife. The one he had carved out of bone. His present for Mai.

He had carved it specially for her, making sure it was balanced properly for throwing once he learned how a throwing knife was supposed to balanced. Mai was his friend, of course, and he was grateful for everything she had done once she was done being an awful Fire Nation villain, but she was so alone in her life now. She traveled the world, hunting down people who needed to be stopped, but she didn't seem to have anything else. Her family and old evil Fire Nation friends thought she was dead, Ty Lee had gone back to the circus, and Mai traveled so much that she didn't even have a real home anymore. Sokka wanted her to know that no matter where she went, he was still her friend, and he was always willing to support her.

The thought of Mai seemed to stick with Sokka more and more, and the knife was supposed to be a reminder so that he would stick in her thoughts, too.

Mai was gone, and the knife had been left behind covered in someone's blood.

The pace of Sokka's search doubled, and in the paths out of the alley space, he found footprints. Heavy footprints. Lots of footprints. Standardized footprints that looked like they had been made by the dozen. Fire Army bootprints.

They had come, and Mai was gone.

Sokka realized there was only one thing he could do.

* * *

Mai was lying strapped to a table in a dark room, while a freak with metal teeth loomed above her and promised death.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Please. If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead. Your soldiers could have killed me back in that alley. Assuming they're incompetent at their jobs and only accidentally took me alive, you still could have killed me before I woke up. Instead, you strap me down and wait for me to wake up so that you can play the second coming of the Agni Warrior and terrify a prisoner? Sorry, but that's not going to work out for you."

Baji chuckled, a hollow, metallic sound. "I was stationed in Omashu, you know. Under your father's command, I oversaw the deployment of the Western Bridge Unit. Bumi and his main army had surrendered, but some of the people and guards had put together a small fighting force. We rode the extending bridge over to the wall while they chucked rocks at us. They faded away quickly once we started firing back, but your father needed heroes to fete, and so I got a promotion. Master of Security for the entire city."

Mai rolled her eyes as theatrically as she could manage while was shackled down on her back. "Congratulations. Did you seriously strap me down so that you could exposit your full career to a woman who couldn't run away? Because the term 'captive audience' isn't actually supposed to be taken literally, you know."

"Well, it's hard to pin people down when you can't throw knives very well, Lady Mai. I make due with what I have." He clicked his chromed teeth together and turned to pace around her. "I was serving to the best of my ability when Princess Azula came to collect you, and I was still serving when she came back with her brother to report your capture by the ruthless rebels of Ba Sing Se."

Rather than think about that, Mai twisted against her binds, but they resisted her strength easily. She also used her movements to try and figure out how many knives she still had in her robes, and was dismayed to feel a complete lack of metal weighing her down.

"Tut, tut, Lady Mai, I had one of my soldiers disarm before you were even brought to this room. But by all means, exercise yourself against your restraints if you wish. In any event, by the time King Bumi drove me and my forces out of Omashu- along with your family, of course- I truly thought you were dead or locked away so deeply you would never be found. Not that I thought much about you after that." Baji gave a grin, an expression that was as fake as the ones Mai showed the world, and even in this dim light she could see the way his teeth tapered to points that could have come out of her own arsenal. "I took a rock to the mouth during Bumi's rampage. My soldiers had to carry me out of the city during their retreat, and the healing process was not quick."

"I am truly grateful that you're telling me this story. The hours of horrifying reconstructive surgery that you're implying you endured fill me with a glee I haven't felt in a long time." Mai raised her head and glared at him. "See, this is my happy face."

"I can see why Prince Regent Zuko likes you, Lady Mai. You have such a droll personality. I'm glad to hear you're pleased, but I had another purpose with this story. I have the pleasure of reporting to the Fire Regents, now. The Royal Siblings. But sadly, they are not their father. They lost the war. They have likely lost this mysterious weapon that can destroy the world, thanks to your interference the other night." Baji walked back over to Mai's slab, and once again stared down at her like a dragon from on high. "You're a traitor to the Fire Nation, and to your honorable family. Were you even captured in Ba Sing Se, or was that your planned extraction from Azula's side? Or did they turn you after they took you, in the cells beneath the ground, hidden away from the sun?"

Mai sighed and relaxed on her slab. Neither the glaring nor the struggling was accomplishing anything. "I'm just a professional doing my job. The Fire Nation had no more use for me, so I found private employment. I haven't done anything to hurt my homeland. Yet. I might murder one of its uglier officers soon, if I have my say."

"So optimistic." Baji walked away, into the shadows, and Mai heard him whisper, "Send the specialist in." A moment later, he reappeared within the light of the lantern on Mai's table, his grin now genuine and no less shiny for it. "Zuko is too weak to deal with you, so as his loyal servant, I will do what he should. I have indeed brought you here to die, Lady Mai. You will die in agony. Your body will be found in a horrifying state, and every moment of the experience will be etched into the features of that porcelain face of yours. We might have lost this mysterious weapon, but we will demonstrate what happens to enemies of our nation. Ah, here he is."

From past Baji, with a sound like a misfiring tank engine, a man strode into the light. A big man.

A _big_ man.

Well, more like a runty mountain that happened to be shaped like a man. His Fire Army uniform couldn't hide muscles that were bigger than Mai's little brother the last time she saw him, and the man's shaved head revealed a symbol like an eye tattooed above his brow. One of his arms and one of his legs both glinted metallically in the light of the lantern and Mai couldn't suppress a snort. "What, does everyone around here have a rusty body part or two? Sign me up for metal hair, and then I won't have to brush it a hundred times every morning."

The man didn't react. He just inhaled deeply, and then let the air out.

With the breath, came a narrow line of pure glow out of his forehead, right from the center of the tattoo.

Where the beam of light landed on Mai's table, down between her boots, there was a sizzle like a cooking griddle and smoke erupted from the wooden surface. Even through her clothes, Mai could feel the heat coming from that thin stream of light. "What is this?!"

Baji chuckled, a sound made his teeth ring sourly. "We've had many new recruits in the Fire Army since we lost the war. In spite of our loss, or perhaps because of it, patriotism is running hot. My subordinate here, with his special power, is one of them. He's proven very useful, especially with unique tasks like this."

The searing glow began slowly tracing its way up the table, towards Mai's trapped body. She flexed against her restraints, not trying to break them, but rather using them as leverage to pull herself away from that beam of heat. She hadn't expected it to do any good and got exactly what she expected. "This is kind of slow, if you're going to kill me. I'll get bored waiting here."

"I doubt it, Lady Mai. You are afraid. You will grow more afraid. And by the time my friend is bisecting you with pure light and heat, you will be reduced to a terrified animal. And then you will die slowly, in more pain than you can possibly imagine, and your corpse will tell the story. But by all means, keep blustering. I won't be bored, I brought a book."

The light continued to move up, and Mai struggled to keep her expression blank. "I've seen the weapon, you know. It's still in Yu Dao. You're wasting time here with me while you could actually be doing your duty."

"I doubt that's true. But if you don't scream otherwise before you die, I'll look into the matter. I promise."

The light continued to move up. It was leaving a deep, smoking gash in the table, but the wood itself wasn't igniting. One the one hand, it was good that Mai wouldn't be burned to death, but she didn't feel like she was getting the better of the deal. "You know, when Zuko finds out about this, he'll kill you. I'm working for him now, and we used to be friends. And Azula! She hates it when other people break her toys. If you tell her I'm alive, you'll be rewarded, but if you kill me, she'll have those teeth of yours for a set of novelty letter openers!"

Baji continued to grin his ferric grin, and pulled a small paperback book out of a pouch in his belt.

The light continued to move up. Mai could feel the heat with the rest of her body now, and her legs felt like she had been lying out on the beach for too long. "My partner is looking for me. He'll tear this whole city apart looking for me. And you better watch out, because he helped end that war you care so much about. He'll hunt down my killer, and he won't stop until he rips out your heart. And he's Water Tribe, so he might actually have been raised to do stuff like that!"

"The buffoon?" Baji looked up from his book momentarily. "No, Lady Mai, he will not."

The light continued to move up.

And Mai suddenly got one last desperate idea. It wasn't a plea or a threat; it was nothing more than what she was good at. She flexed her right ankle, pressing against the leather strap to push the joint as far as it would bend. She put everything she had into it, and then put a little more, plus a bit to grow on just to be properly poetic about it. As far as Mai could tell, the only result was lots of pain and maybe a hyper-extension sprain, but she didn't let up. From her spot lying down, she couldn't see the position of her boot, so she'd have do this entirely by feel.

The light continued to move up. It was a finger length from starting to bisect her.

The light continued to move up, and just so happened to help Mai tiangulate the exact relative position of the giant metal-limbed man's tattooed forehead.

She kicked the back of her boot against the tabletop, and pointed her toes in a certain direction.

She felt the spring snap in the sole of her boot, and she just barely caught the glint of the metal stiletto as it flew through the air towards the light-spewing tattoo-

-there was a flash in front of his forehead-

-a crack like the Fire Arm only _louder_-

-the line of light and heat instantly died-

-something exploded and the force hit Mai hard enough to shatter reality.

The experience was something like how she imagined it would be to ride one of those stone carts down the giant slides back in Omashu, if the slides had gone in loops and Mai spent the entire experience with Tom-Tom perched her head and hitting her with a spiked club. It was further marred by the complete lack of sound that went with it; no sooner had Mai heard the crack of the explosion than her skull felt like it was splitting and her hearing became nothing more than a constant ringing sensation.

It took Mai several moments to realize that her table was no longer standing. To be fair, it was really dark. The lantern had either gone out or landed where its light couldn't reach Mai.

"I guess that guy's power," she said as she shook away the mist on her vision, "just went to his head." It was a horrible thing to say on several levels, but at least it proved that her hearing was mostly working and she could hear herself above the ringing.

She was still strapped to the table, mostly, but it was lying on its side, and the end that her feet had been strapped to had been knocked to pieces. Her wrist restraints were still fine, though, so she was left hanging awkwardly just above the floor. Everything ached, but that was nothing new in the life of a traveling warrior. She politely nudged the pain aside, told it she would give it an audience later, thank you, but there was pressing business to which she had to attend in a timely manner. She still had a spring-loaded boot to activate, after all.

With her feet free, it wasn't hard to fold herself up at the waist. Mai dragged the table over so that she could brace her loaded boot against the floor, and then aimed her toes in the general direction of her own head. Even in current condition, she had unflinching faith in her own aim, and that faith was rewarded when the stilleto shot out and pierced the leather strap on her right wrist without so much as scratching her skin.

Mai made a mental note to complement the Mechanist and his lab staff on the quality of their mechanisms, and then began awkwardly yanking at the strap so that it was being sawed against the blade. For anyone else, in might have been a dangerous effort, but even with her head clouded by her trip on the explosion express, Mai was confident that she would never draw blood from her own wrists.

The first restraint split, and Mai had a full limb free. After that, the other strap fell quickly to her blade.

The first thing she found was the lantern. It had landed in a corner, and although it had been shattered, the glowing crystal within was intact enough to give off light. Mai raised it above her head and looked around, but the result was disappointing. Except for the remnants of the table, there was little else to see in the windowless room. She found a pair of twisted metal things lying on the ground that- oh, those were the big man's arm and leg. Of the big man himself, there was no sign, until she realized that a large shadow on the far wall was less of a shadow and more of a stain.

Then Mai remembered that there had been another occupant in the room, before the explosion.

She heard a whistle of air and ducked, dropping her glowing crystal. Baji's fist sailed away while she turned and threw a perfect palm strike that should have laid her attacker low, but no sooner did she make contact with skin and puffy lips than pain exploded in her hand and prickled up her whole forearm.

"Ach!"

Baji chuckled metallically and grinned in the wan light. "Flesh and bone is nothing compared to metal, Lady Mai. In Yu Dao, and the rest of the world." He struck out at her again, a classic upward Cannon Punch, but Mai was already backing up and felt nothing more than the wind of its passage. She thrust out her stiletto to keep Baji away, but he casually threw out a Whip Punch that caught her on the wrist and knocked the weapon free of her grip. While the knife was still twisting in the air, Baji reached out and grabbed it.

Mai scowled as she backed away. "That's supposed to be my move. I'm pretty sure Azula actually had that put into law at some point or another."

Baji grinned. Of course. The man was truly a one-trick rhino. But this time, instead of speaking, he opened his mouth, stuck the blade of the knife in, and bit down hard.

The blade snapped in two where his teeth came together.

Ew.

Baji spit out the tip of the blade and chuckled. "Do I disgust you, Lady Mai? You play at wearing knives but can't stand to make them truly a part of yourself. That's why you're weak, and why I'll win."

"I like to think it's more that I'm sane and that's why I'll always stop freaks like you."

"And how do you propose to do that? You have no weapons, you have no real skills, and your painful attempts at banter prove you have no cleverness. What can you possibly do to me?"

Mai smirked. "I know all kinds of ways to-" And then she interrupted herself by kicking the glow-crystal off the floor and right into Baji's face. His teeth might have been metal, but his nose was the original ugly design. Rock collided with flesh and cartilage, and Baji dropped the broken stiletto as his hands flew up instinctively to his damaged face.

Then Mai turned his own trick around on him and caught the weapon in midair, then took it a stap further and jammed the broken-but-still-solid rod of metal into Baji's throat with all the strength she normally put into throwing her blades. As he dropped to the floor with a wet gasp, he stared up at Mai with equal parts surprise and outrage.

She gave a shallow bow. "Like I said, I'm not traitor. Just a professional doing my job." Then she pulled the stiletto out again and left him to die.

As soon as she had turned away, Mai pushed Baji out of her mind. He was a complication to her mission, and a personal danger who took things too far, and so she had taken care of the problem. There was no further point in thinking about the matter. The only awareness she felt about the act was her lack of pleasure, and the lack of any real sense of accomplishment.

Even Azula knew how to get things done without a body count. Well, without a personal body count; commanding armies in war didn't count.

Mai made her way out of the room and into a long hallway of metal construction. She blinked against the light shed by the ensconced torches and made herself look around. Unfortunately, the hallway looked very familiar. Mai didn't actually believe she had been here before, but she had nevertheless seen this type of thing enough to know it by sight. It was a boringly standard Fire Nation garrison base, made from designs approved by Fire Lord Azulon back when Mai's father was still hiding smutty 'Lady Rei!' picture novels from his own parents. She had visited places like this in the good old days of hunting Zuko and/or the Avatar for the Fire Nation (Azula had never been quite clear on what a mission to bring her brother back had to do with chasing the Avatar and conquering Ba Sing Se), and what Mai was seeing now- the lack of windows, the way the rooms were spaced out- told her that she was in the basement.

Underground.

Mai clutched her broken stiletto tighter. She would have to fight her way up before she could fight her way _out_, and it would be all too easy for the soldiers here to box her in and wait her out. The entire staff was likely personally loyal to Baji, so there was little reason to hope that Zuko's name would open any doors. In fact, the only reason to hope was for some comforting denial, and Mai didn't really go for that type of thing, so instead she began making plans. The explosion of the Burning Tattoo Man was big and loud enough that the whole building had probably heard it, so Mai had to assume they were on alert. They would be looking for an escaped prisoner, and they would attack without hesitation. Ideally, she would be able to get some real weapons, but they would probably be all locked down by now. Even if she could get some, Mai's hip was still sore from being grazed by the Fire Arm's shot, she had a persistent headache, there was still a quiet ringing in her ears, and her arms and legs were like jelly.

And she would likely have to fight every single soldier in the base before she could get out.

Mai began moving forward anyway. If this whole mission turned out to be a disaster, it wouldn't be for a lack of effort.

At least there was still a chance it would work out, even without her. Sokka was still out there, and Mai knew he could handle himself. He did just fine when she had tried to manipulate him in Ba Sing Se, and he'd do fine without her help now. For all his complaining, he did have some luck with him.

Strangely, Mai didn't encounter anyone as she moved down the hallway. She tried several doors, looking for weapons, but they were all locked. Mai's broken stiletto did little against the military-grade locks, and she didn't have the strength to really channel her energy into one of her special strikes, so she gave up and headed for the stairs. Several times, she heard sounds coming down through the ceiling that swirled through her headache, a vague cacophony that betrayed a definite urgency. The soldiers must have been getting ready for her, she supposed. They would hold the stairs against her, so she'd have to fight uphill while they chucked fire and spears and arrows and maybe even old furniture at her. Hopefully, her last stand would end with a good old-fashioned spear in the gut instead of a surplus chair bouncing off her head.

And then she turned a corner and found a Firebender walking towards her.

Mai took a stance and raised her stiletto. Against a Firebender, she would have to close quickly before he pinned her down, or else take him down now before he began a barrage. The broken stiletto was unbalanced, but Mai would have to make it work. In prime condition, she wouldn't be worried about it, but right now she was far from confident. She raised her hand for the throw-

"Wait! It's me!" The Mysterious Me removed his faceplate, revealing a strangely familiar face, with dark skin and _blue eyes_ and-

Oh.

The stiletto fell from numb fingers, and reality swirled around Mai for a moment. _He_ had come, stepping out of the shadow of hopes that Mai was too cynical to have ever considered. He ran over, and Mai let herself sink into the hug he threw around her. It was strange being touched like that; she was usually wearing a layer of knives between her and the rest of the world. It was almost painful, but perhaps that was just her injuries reacting to the strength of his arms as he squeezed her tight.

An eternity later, they reluctantly separated, and Mai said, "How?"

Sokka took her hands in his own and gave them a gentle squeeze. "I worked out that Baji had probably captured you, and I figured Zuko- Well, he told me back in Ba Sing Se about how as kids you two- Actually, I think I mentioned that to you already- Anyway, I figured he still cared enough to go against his own army guy- He didn't believe me at first so I kind of begged him- I didn't cry, I'm too manly for that- So he finally agreed to kind of attack his own garrison. Baji's troops didn't stand down, so we had to fight. We just secured the upstairs and I came down here to look for you. Are you okay?"

Mai gave the happiest sigh of her entire life. "Only for a very loose definition of 'okay,' but that's fine. I need some bandages and something for a headache, but I can manage." She realized that she was still clutching Sokka, and for a second she thought she should let go and prove how okay she was by walking out like the super-warrior she was supposed to be, but then she decided she okay where she was.

Then Mai decided something else, and kissed Sokka deeply.

When their lips parted, she looked him in his wide, surprised eyes and said, "Thank for coming for me. You saved my life."

"Uh, aha, you know, you saved my life a few times, but we haven't been keeping count, so-"

Mai gave him another quick kiss. "Just accept my gratitude. And get me out of here; this place is boring now that I'm not worried about fighting for my life."

"Okay, I can do that. Oh, wait, I brought something for you." He pulled a knife from his belt, a knife that glinted white like bone- the same knife he had given her outside the city.

Mai took it, and gave the solid handle a good squeeze before the weapon disappeared into her robes.

* * *

Mai had kissed him.

Mai had _kissed_ him.

_Mai_ had kissed him.

Mai had kissed _him_.

Wow.

It was-

It felt kind of great. It felt right. Completely unexpectedly, Sokka had no stressful thoughts or worries about it. Sure, he had some questions, but he could deal with questions. Questions were okay. Questions could even be fun, sometimes.

Mai hadn't turned into an illusion-casting Spirit monster by the time they finally found Zuko in the base's command center, so Sokka decided to accept everything that had happened as reality. The Fire Regent himself paced the room while his personal guard was rifling through Baji's records and stuff. Sokka waved as he approached. "Hey, look who I ran into!"

Zuko looked over, and when he saw Mai, he slumped with relief. "Baji _did_ take you. I didn't start a civil war."

Mai's posture grew even stiffer, and her reply was as flat as the blades of her knives. "I'm fine, thanks for asking, Zuko."

"Oh, sorry!" Zuko finally seemed to notice how close Mai was standing to Sokka, and his eyes flickered back and forth between them. "I'm glad you're okay. That's why I came, and risked... I'm glad you're okay." He cleared his throat, and then continued, "Do you know where Baji is?"

"In one of the rooms downstairs." Her voice went even colder than usual. "More relevantly, he's dead."

"...Dead?"

"He tried to kill me. I tried to escape. Things got rough."

"I suppose so." Zuko shrugged. "Sorry you had to go through that. I never thought Baji would defy me like this."

Sokka couldn't help but bark a laugh. "Zuko, we've had some good times, so no offense, but you are _not_ the best judge of character. The guy had _metal teeth!_ Seriously, who does that?"

Zuko threw a lopsided glare at Sokka, but apparently didn't have a real reply to that, because he turned back to Mai. "Did Baji take the weapon? Is that why he kidnapped you?"

"No, he just wanted to execute me as a traitor to the Fire Nation. He still thought I helped break your lockdown at the funeral the other night."

"So it's still missing. And Sokka told me that Fa Ming's assistant was killed by the thieves, or someone working for them. Did you get a good look at the weapon?"

Sokka pulled Mai closer to him, and hoped she realized that he might have conveniently left out all the stuff they had learned about the Fire Arm. Sokka was thoroughly grateful that Zuko had risked so much to help him save Mai, but the idea of the guy (who, not to harp on it, had for a while devoted his life to capturing the Avatar for the baddest man on the planet) having a weapon like the Fire Arm, or even the idea of it, was what people who liked to be witty called 'bad news.'

"No," Mai said. "I was too busy fighting for my life. The thief had a friend with swords who had something of a pushy personality."

Sokka held back an exaggerated sigh of relief. Reactions like that, as natural as they felt, never really worked out right.

Zuko turned around and punched a plume of fire like a baby in a bad mood, or a cranky Waterbender with hair-loopies, and his guards paused in their work to make sure that he wasn't actually attacking. "So we're no closer to solving this problem, and now I have even less troops who can help me keep this city under control."

Then Mai gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Actually, I figured out who took it."

Sokka squawked and looked over at her. Was she trying to get him back for saving her by seeing how many times she could surprise him in the space of an hour? "Seriously? When did you have the time to do that?"

"I've suspected ever since we talked with Wu Gi, and the more I've thought about it, the more it makes sense. But I don't know where we should start looking, now. Yu Dao's old mines are my bet, but-"

"But there are so many," Zuko interrupted, "and I don't have the manpower to do a real search of them. I can call for reinforcements, but that will take time, and this morning I got word that the Earth King's army is only a day away."

Sokka felt a grin growing on his face. "I can figure out which mine we need to worry about."

Zuko looked at him like he was expecting a punchline. "How?"

"I need some things from Wu Gi's lab, and Mai's stuff. Then I can tell you where we need to go."

Mai's lips brushed Sokka's cheek. "I should have started kissing you ages ago." Sokka's face warmed while Mai looked back over at Zuko and said, "We'll need every solder you have, to properly cut off the full mine. I read that some of them have passages that lead right back into the city, and I expect our opponent specifically picked one with that advantage."

Zuko looked at Mai, then turned his gaze over to Sokka, then looked back at Mai, and finally scowled at Sokka. "Don't think that I'm as reckless as I used to be when we were enemies. Are you two absolutely sure about this? We have no room for mistakes."

Sokka grinned at the self-appointed Fire Regent. "Zuko, buddy, if we're wrong, it won't make any difference whether or not we even try."

* * *

While Sokka went to raid Wu Gi's lab, Mai headed back to Sneers' home with some of Zuko's guards. No one answered at the front door, so she had one of the Firebenders blow the door off its hinges.

After all, on Mai's word, Sneers was now officially an enemy of the state. Also based on her word, he was to be captured alive.

The soldiers marched inside and began a search for the Fire Arm, but Mai knew they wouldn't find anything. She herself went to the guest room she had been staying in, and went straight for her supplies. They had been left in the chest beside her bed, untouched. Knives, launchers, briefing papers, exploding salty peanut butter jar, and several changes of clothes. It was the latter Mai broke out first, unfolding a set of familiar red and black silks. The time was past for hiding and misdirection. Mai could at last do her favorite part of the job.

It was time to go on the offensive.

She loaded up with all the equipment she could carry, leaving no knives in reserve. Between her backups and what had been recovered from Baji's equipment stores, she was fully outfitted, minus stilettos for her boots. (But really, how often does someone have to shoot knives out of their boots? Surely, not more than once per mission.)

Leaving the soldiers to continue their pointless searching, Mai set out for the governor's mansion. It was a quicker walk even than Mai's brief commute from the Royal Casino to the Jasmine Dragon back in Ba Sing Se, and the Fire Army soldiers at the gates bowed to her as she passed through. In the main hall, now cavernously empty with no party guests, Mai found Mayor Morishita watching the rapid comings and goings of his military guests with obvious bewilderment. She was going to brush right past him, but then stopped and gave him a shallow bow. "Sir, excuse me, but is your daughter around?"

The Mayor turned to her with rapidly blinking eyes. "Kori? I believe she went over to her boyfriend's house this morning, like always. Why, is she in trouble?"

Mai considered lying, but then gave it up with a shrug. "Almost certainly. But maybe I can rescue her."

She turned on her heel and left Morishita gulping like a fish, and flagged down a servant to take her to Zuko's command center. Soon, Mai once again found herself in Zuko's suite of rooms on the third floor, but this time was taken to an office instead of the bedroom. The decor was oh so typical of the Fire Nation military, with its giant wall-mounted map, bladed weapons on display, and plethora of Flame sigils (in case all the red paint wasn't a clear enough statement of allegience), that Mai hardly saw it all. Her attention flowed over to Zuko and some of the military commanders, who were looking expectantly at a desk near a window where Sokka was playing with something. Mai approached and looked over his toys, but found something surprisingly familiar lying on the desk. "Hey, that's my sword."

Sokka nodded while he gently shook a little tray with some kind of smoking liquid in it. "Yeah, I found it where you were kidnapped. It had a metal pellety thing in it, which I figured might have come from... uh, your fight with the assassins. It's a good bet that the weapon- you know, whatever it is, not that I know or anything- needs a good supply of these things, so the thief will need a way to replenish his supply. With Wu Gi's acids, and proper ventilation, we can figure out what this pellet is made of, and then we'll know what mine they're using." The smoking tapered off, and Sokka went back over to the desk, where he carefully poured the remaining liquid back into a glass jar. Once finished, Sokka shook the tray again, and Mai could see some little metal pieces rattling at the bottom.

Behind her Zuko said, "What is it?"

Sokka looked up directly at Mai, and grinned. "It was _lead_. From what I've been taught, it makes sense. Lead is heavy, so the pellet thingies will have maximum weight for their size. Quick, are there any old lead mines not currently in service? Still functional, but quiet enough that no one would notice if it got started up again on the sly?"

Zuko signaled to his commanders, who had a hasty conversation of whispers, and then the one with the biggest shoulder pads pointed to a spot on the big map hanging on the wall.

Mai smiled and flicked a pair of blades into her hands. "Time to leave." She turned to Zuko and pointed one of the blades right at him. "I go in first. I can sneak in and scout things out, and bring back a larger force if I need it. In the meantime, you can get your army into position or whatever. No matter what we find in that mine, I think it's time for you to pull out of Yu Dao. Things are only going to get worse from here."

Zuko stared at her for a moment, and then shook his head. "Azula would never recognize you. What happened to that little girl who didn't talk?"

Mai flicked her blades back into her sleeves. "She had to change to survive."

Sokka stepped over, and said, "I didn't actually know that little girl, but I still think she grew up just fine. I'm coming with you, right?"

Mai smirked at him.

* * *

_Mountains of Yu Dao_  
_Still Late Summer_  
_Still 1 Year After Sozin's Comet_

For the first time in days, Sokka stepped outside of Yu Dao. "I have to say, it's a lot less exciting just walking through the main gate. Maybe we should have used your grapple thingy, just to keep things interesting?"

Mai snorted a little laugh. "Maybe when we have more time. I'll even let you have thing when we're done here. I haven't returned one of those in functioning order yet." She turned, raised a hand to her lips, and blew out a whistle that echoed against the city walls, bounding out over the crowd of protesters who were looking at the open gate with worrying curiosity.

Sokka stared back at them and gave a nervous wave. "You sure he'll be able to hear that?"

"Wait for it."

Sokka did, trusting in his- girlfriend? Partner? Ally? At the very least, she was still a friend, and always would be.

There was a commotion at the back of the crowd of protesters, and Sokka hoped this wasn't the start of a riot or malformed attempt at an invasion of the city, but before he had time to picture all the various ways that idea could go wrong, the crowd split down the middle and a large, long, dark green creature came bounding across the rocky terrain.

Sokka watched admiringly as it ran right up to the gate and laid down in front of Mai. "Have I told you that I need to get me one of those things? Because I really need to get me one of those things. Where do I get me one of those things?"

"White Lotus guy named Piandao." Mai swung herself up into the saddle, and then held out her hand to Sokka. "You should meet him, he has all kinds of fun toys." Sokka grabbed on and let her help him up into the saddle behind her. "He actually made that sword of mine. Taught me to use it, too."

The eelhound rose up, and as soon as Mai flicked the reins, it was off in a run aimed at the nearby mines deeper in the mountains. Sokka held on to Mai's waist to keep from getting bumped from the saddle, and he was pleased when she didn't so much as object. "Piandao must be a great blacksmith. From what Wu Gi was saying, I'd expect the Fire Arm to shoot right through most swords that thin. Yours took a shot at close range and held solid."

"I'll put in a good word, and maybe he'll make you a sword, too."

They were on their way to what might be a deadly confrontation, and Sokka was aware that there were times and places for possibly emotional conversations that could leave people distracted once the fighting began, but he figured that _not_ having this discussion might also lead to distractions in whatever they were about to experience, so it came out to a wash. Taking a breath, he said, "Well... uh, a good word, huh? So you and me... well, does that mean... we..."

Mai turned to glance at him. "You're wondering about the kiss?"

"That would be a great start, yes. Not that I'm complaining!"

She nodded. "Being a secret agent isn't all it's cracked up to be. I guess... my idea of fun isn't all it's cracked up to be. There are missions, which keep me busy, but then... there's nothing else. Not like you've found. And I don't... I don't want to just keep stacking up the missions until one of them finally kills me. And if I stay alone, one of them _will_ kill me. So, I guess I'm saying..." Sokka caught sight of her cheeks coloring before she turned to look ahead and hid from his view behind her hair. "I wouldn't mind having my missions _and_ something more. Some_one_ more. Who could help keep me alive."

Sokka smiled, and took one of his hands off her waist to rest it on her shoulder. "That sounds like something I'd like. You understand that sometimes Aang or Katara or someone will need me, and I'll have to go to them, right?"

Without looking at him, Mai said, "You understand that sometimes Iroh will send word that I need to drop everything and go stop someone from doing something stupid like building a city under the ocean for his chosen people and then trying to wipe out everyone who lives on land, right?"

"...Who _does_ that?"

"You'd be surprised."

Sokka shook his head. "Well, we'll make it work. Because we want to. Right?"

"Right."

* * *

_Random Lead Mine outside Yu Dao_  
_Still Late Summer_  
_Still 1 Year After Sozin's Comet_

Mai brought her eelhound- it occurred to her that she never named it, and as soon as he learned that, Sokka would come up with something bizarre and highly amusing- to a stop in front of the mine. It was built into the western side of one of the mountainous slopes of the wilds outside Yu Dao, beyond sight of the city. The mine itself didn't look special, being just a square hole in the rock supported by thick wooden beams, but that was good. This enemy knew how to hide, and wouldn't have chosen anything conspicuous.

She and Sokka dismounted, and headed straight into the Earth.

The sun cast its light only a short distance into the mine, but once they got beyond its range they found glow crystals lamps hung from the beams in the ceiling. Either the things were cheap enough that they could be left behind when the mining was done, or Mai was on the right track. There were probably more possibilities than just that, but she didn't want to bother thinking about them just now. Better to press ahead and see for themselves, because the Earth King's army wasn't going to wait for them to be sure.

Sokka stayed right behind her, club and boomerang in hand, never hesitating.

It was hard to keep track of time without the sun visible, but Mai didn't think it was very long before they came across a sign of life. The sound of hammering and other activity echoed in the stone passage, prompting Mai to hurry her progress. She and Sokka followed a bend in the path, and without warning emerged into a giant cavern. The glow of even more lanterns, plus luminescent crystals poking unshaped right out of the walls, filled the space with light, but that wasn't as surprising as what the light made visible. Mai and Sokka were on a ledge overlooking a wide space that had been converted to a factory, with smooth floors and metal piping and large equipment in various stages of assembly. Dozens and dozens of people were working to put everything together, and the sounds of their clanging work echoed throughout the cave with enough force to cause headaches.

Just past the workspace, a box-like hut made of stone stood like a coffin in front of a funeral gathering, a metaphor that Mai was sure was in no way influenced by the danger this place presented. Beyond that structure, the floor of the cavern fell away into a deep hole, but there was massive construction of metal and wood above it: scaffolding and pulleys from which hung large buckets and platforms.

"Congratulations, Lady Mai! You found us."

She spun towards the voice and pulled a pair of razor discs.

Kori Morishita finished the walk up the path from the main floor up to Mai and Sokka's ledge, and bowed before them. "You are every bit as impressive as I expected. Come, I was just about to sit down to supper. Let us talk through things like the refined Ladies we are."

Mai put her blades back in their sheathes, and relaxed. "It would be my pleasure."

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	7. License to Thwart

**License to Thwart**

Kori's 'dining room' proved to be the boxy stone hut out past the workspace where her minions were either putting together a doomsday device of some kind or just setting up a non-guild factory. As they got close to the coffin-like structure, she could even see that there were little curtained windows built into the otherwise plain construction. Mai guessed that Kori herself had used her Earthbending to create the whole setup. The group circled the building and drew closer to the mining pit and its crane, but most of the details of the superstructure were lost in the mix of shadows and crystal glare. Then they finally reached the hut's entrance, and when Mai stepped through it, she was greeted by the sights and smells of a proper Fire Nation dinner. The carved wooden table was long enough to accommodate eight people and plenty of dishes, but as far as Mai could see, she and Sokka were the only guests.

Kori sat down at the head, and immediately reached for a plate of dumplings. "Please, take any chair you like."

Sokka gave Mai a wide-eyed stare. "Is this common in your line of work?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." She turned to Kori and said, "You don't mind if I use my own salt, do you? I import the good stuff from the Fire Nation's Cuo Island; as everyone with any speck of class knows, it does the best job bringing out the food's flavor." She reached slowly behind her, to the knapsack she wore at the small of her back, and withdrew her jar while Kori watched with eyes like a raven-eagle. Once Mai opened the lid and showed the contents, Kori relaxed. Mai took the closest seat and put the container of salt beside her plate, then grabbed for a bowl of fire flakes.

If she was going to have to flip out and start a fight, she didn't want to eat anything heavy.

Sokka slid into the chair next to hers, and began attacking the spread with a gusto Mai had only ever seen from Iroh, but with far less grace. If she was going to keep him, she'd have to teach him a little something about table manners. Then she turned back to Kori, and decided that Sokka's bad habits were more than worth the look of disgust on the other woman's face. It was as close as she'd likely get to horrifying her mother the same way. "Feel free to share my salt. So, how did you find out about the Fire Arm?"

Kori's eyes met Mai's as she took a pinch of the little crystals, yet nothing came of the small confrontation but some slightly salty dumplings. Almost with disappointment, Kori shifted her interest to a goblet of lily wine and took a sip. "I learned of the weapon from Sneers, of course. He lied when he said he didn't know what his uncle was working on. I convinced him that telling people otherwise would only complicate the situation and keep the authorities from discovering who really killed his uncle. He knows I'm more knowledgeable about the ways of cities than he is."

"You arranged the murder."

"Yes. Sneers had some friends, a pair of Freedom Fighters from his rebel days, who came to Yu Dao. You've met them, so to speak: Longshot and Smellerbee. My apologies for the violence; they had orders to remove any interference, and you did chase them. When I first met them, they were rather put out over Sneers retiring to live in the lap of luxury, and I convinced them that he needed to be cut off from his new lifestyle. Stealing the Fire Arm was meaningless to them at first except as a way to ruin the relationship with the Fire Nation, but eventually they realized its potential."

Mai poured herself her own cup of wine. "Potential for what, specifically? Do you really want another war?"

Kori pushed her plate away, and leaned over the table with an intent look in her eyes. "Yu Dao doesn't need acts of pity like the 'Harmony Restoration Movement.' The colonies have grown into our own culture, our own _nation!_ We can raise an army, and if every soldier has a Fire Arm, _nothing_ can stop us from establishing our sovereignty! The Fire Nation is weak; the Regents and people let their land be taken, and surrendered a war they had been winning for a century. The Earth Kingdom has no will; that joke of a King gave the Fire Nation its lands back in exchange for peace, when he and his allies could have wiped their enemies out completely! Both nations will acknowledge the colonies as their equal when we rise up, and I will command the war forge here in the peerless mines of Yu Dao. As soon as the forges and assembly machines are built, I will unveil the Fire Arm to my chosen servants, and we will manufacture enough to wipe out any force that stands against us. Even the Avatar can do nothing against the power of the Fire Arm!"

Sokka made a choking sound at that, but Mai didn't let her reaction show. She tossed some salty fire flakes into her mouth like she didn't have a care in the world, swallowed politely, and said, "That's very... ambitious. You realize that raising an army is a fairly vast undertaking?"

"Of course." Kori leaned back and smiled. "No need to tease, Lady Mai, I understand that this is a bit much to take in. But you see, this isn't some wild flight of fancy from a bored heiress with too much time and money on her hands. I'm providing the weapons, but I'm just a small part of the effort. I was contacted soon after Fa Ming finished the Fire Arm and wrote to the Fire Regents. I was told everything they had arranged, that they wanted to hide the weapon away. Our organization has people _everywhere_. The Fire Nation. The Earth Kingdom. Even the Water Tribes. We are a group that sees the potential in the colonies, acts with the strength of the Fire Nation of old, and is dedicated to the idea that only the people with the proper passion and power will profit from the new world. We are... P.H.O.E.N.I.X.!"

"Phoenix?"

"No, P.H.O.E.N.I.X."

"Well." Mai took another sip of her wine. "I have to say, this is a little more than I was expecting."

"Naturally." Kori threw back the rest of her wine.

"And whether or not this organization really exists will affect how I respond to this. If you're just a crazy kid stealing experimental weapons, that's one thing, but a real movement to create a militant breakaway state?"

"I understand your concerns, but you needn't worry. My master- the head of our organization- knows about you, Lady Mai. He wants me to give you a chance, and I'm happy to do so. You're a superb warrior, and the type of agent we can really use. You've seen how weak the old nations and their leaders are, and you chose to strike out on your own. It's a shame you're working for a failure like General Iroh, but we understand that you didn't have many other options. We want to show you what we can offer. My master would like to meet you."

Mai glanced over at Sokka, and then leaned forward and smiled at Kori. "That's perfect. I accept."

"I expected you to." Kori clasped her hands and smiled sweetly. "But you understand, you'll either join us or die. I'll need you to surrender your weapons and submit yourself to our care. If you're sincere, then there won't be a problem."

Sokka swallowed a mouthful of food and cleared his throat. "Um, what about me?"

Kori blinked. "You... ah..."

While the other woman stammered, Mai casually reached into her jar of salt and took a pinch, while her other hand twisted the top to the _right_, and then smoothly let go and threw another dash of crystals over her fire flakes. Then she grabbed Sokka's shirt, threw him under the table, and dove down after him. Mai heard a loud crack echo through the cavern outside the dining room, and the back of her chair exploded into splinters that fell to litter the stone floor. Sokka squealed something about someone shooting the Fire Arm through the little room's windows, but Mai was too distracted to respond.

She was counting.

At two, she rose up and pushed against the table. She struggled with its weight, but then Sokka joined in and the thing rose up. At three, she tilted the table back towards where Kori had been sitting, and all the food slid off to crash to the stone floor.

At four, her jar of salt exploded, battering the heavy table, and the air suddenly stank of peanut butter.

Amidst the chaos, Kori screamed.

Mai let go of the table, grabbed Sokka, and yanked him towards the door, but before they could escape, the floor bucked beneath them and she went flying. Mai tucked into a ball and hit the ground in a roll that was only very painful. When she came to a stop, she was back out in the large cavern. Mai looked around for Sokka, but he was nowhere to be found. Behind her, the dining room's exit was now sealed by a newly raised stone slab. The windows likewise shuddered and stretched to seal themselves.

_Dragon droppings._

Kori was still alive, and Sokka was trapped with her.

Then there was another echoing crack, and a spot of floor near Mai exploded into a small barrage of stone chips that stung her skin. She looked up and into the distance, and spotted a glint of greenish gold glittering just below the mining pit's scaffholding.

Longshot and the Fire Arm.

While the distant sniper reloaded, Mai pushed to her feet and ran around to the other side of the freestanding dining room. The structure would shield her from view, and maybe she could find an open window through which she could daringly save Sokka from certain death just like-

Mai came to stop. Here on the other side of Kori's playhouse, the machine workers were all visible, and they were looking back at Mai with both interest and a certain degree of hostility. Now that she was analyzing them as a threat, their numbers seemed offensively large.

But this threat, she could fight.

Mai smirked and whipped her sleeves free from her wrist launchers.

* * *

Five steps from the door, the ground jumped beneath Sokka and his legs tangled up beneath him and he dropped like an elephant-whale trying to fly out of the ocean. When he looked up again, the door was gone.

So was Mai.

Then Sokka heard footsteps behind him, and reached for his boomerang while he turned to face-

-Kori, whose face actually wasn't looking so good. The burn marks weren't as bad as Zuko's, but without a Waterbender healer, there was no way they were going to heal nicely. Her twisted, furious expression probably wasn't doing the injuries any favors, either.

Sokka tried to brain her with his boomerang, but the Earth moved to flip her away and she pulled her meteor hammer from her belt. As soon as she landed she threw the spiked rock-head straight at him. Sokka swung his club, expecting to deflect the other weapon the way he used to knock Mai's flying knives out of the air, but the hammer head did a little dance in midair and turned to wrap the trailing chain around the shaft of his weapon.

Kori pulled the club right out of Sokka's hands, and then clutched her fist to make the floor beneath his feet rise up and form clamps up to his ankles. He windmilled his arms to keep his balance, but Kori grabbed his shirt and yanked him so that he face was hanging right in front of hers.

"Let's see how cooperative that traitor is," she slurred, "with you as my captive."

* * *

The thugs rushed towards Mai, only a few bringing their hammers along as weapons, which she took to mean most of them were Benders of some kind. She fired off crescent blades from her wrist cuffs, and once again the shirshu venom did its work and the victims immediately decided they had important nap-related work they couldn't miss. With them massed in a group like that, though, Mai had trouble making sure that each body took just one blade, and the press of bodies didn't let a few losses of a few individuals stop them from surging closer.

Or from raising flames and rocks to throw at Mai.

She fired more blades, but her wrist launchers started making insistent clicking sounds, and she realized that the stream of sharp metal had stopped.

She'd have to do this the old fashioned way, then. It was a shame, not just because she'd likely get hurt, but also because she was almost certainly going to have to strike without concern for life.

Mai drew a pair of razor discs, and stood her ground.

Then a ragged chorus of war cries echoed through the cavern, and Fire Army troops began streaming into sight.

Against all good sense, leading them was a figure with gold trim on his armor and extra points on his helmet. Unlike all the other Firebenders, his face was left visible, including the dark scar over one eye. When he saw Mai, he made his way over to her, and she acknowledged him with a nod. "Good timing."

"I can't take credit. Something exploded and I figured that was as good a time to push in as any." Zuko gave a quick look around. "Who are we looking for?"

"_I'm_ going after Kori Morishita. You can stay here and handle the less delicate operations."

Zuko frowned. "And the weapon?"

"If you find it, you can have it." She didn't bother mentioning that it had already been fired at her once in this cave already, just like she hadn't told Zuko what the weapon was in the first place. "Don't you have a battle to lead, glorious Fire Regent?" Mai left Zuko to get on with that, and ran off back to Kori's little rock bungalow.

She had a Sokka to rescue, and a Fire Arm to recover.

* * *

"Would you believe that this isn't the first time a crazy would-be little conqueror-girl has dragged me along with her as a hostage during an attempt to escape a half-baked all-stupid ambush?" Kori clenched both her fists, and the stone clamps around Sokka's ankles tightened painfully. He bit back a groan and tried to make himself meet Kori's glare, but with portions of her face now resembling strips of jerky it wasn't an easy prospect.

"If you know how this works," she growled, "then I don't have to convince you that if you cause me more trouble than you're worth, I'll kill you in a heartbeat." She broke off the staredown, turned to the nearest 'dining room' wall, and used her Earthbending to shape a new door right in front of her. Sokka stared past her to see where she was taking him, and was pleased to see that the scene in the cavern had become a little war between Fire soldiers and Kori's thugs.

It seemed that Zuko had finally learned how to do _good_ timing. Sokka had been skeptical of the Prince Regent's capabilities back when Mai outlined her plan to scout the caverns while Zuko moved his troops into place and set up to invade. It couldn't be denied, though, that the guy had come through. That was good. Really good. Now Sokka just had to figure out how to use this to somehow get free, defeat Kori, and save the day.

No problem.

"So," he drawled, "you know that whole plan you had to arm a rogue uprising from your fancy little cave with its pretentious dining room? Yeah, that's just been buried in a big ol' pile of slush, now. Those are Zuko's troops. Even if you have another hidden surprise that can win this battle for you, Zuko knows where you are. He can come back with his whole army, the Avatar, and even his crazy sister. And if they don't want to bother, I'm sure the Earth King will be all over it. You've lost."

Kori stomped a foot, closing up her new door and cutting off the sight and sounds of the fighting. She whirled on Sokka, who couldn't help but jump when her burned face swung back into the center of his vision. "Do you want to die? Is that it? _Keep talking, snow savage._"

Sokka held up his hands in a peaceable-type gesture. "Hey, no need to start dehumanizing me with unimaginative slurs against my nation; I just don't want anyone else to get hurt. Your scheme is over. Surrender, help us end this, and we can work something out. Please? You have nothing to lose, at this point."

Kori smiled, a hideous twisting of her face. "Wrong. I can lose my chance to kill you and Lady Mai for my master. And why would I want that?"

Sokka deflated as much as he could with stone clamps locking his feet against the floor. "Great. See, I saw the parallel from the beginning. You and Azula are both crazy killers who don't know when to quit."

"I'm not like Azula! I won't fail like her! And I _won't go back to being Colony Trash!_" She took an Earthbending stance and moved her hands in a circular motion. A piece of the floor dropped away in the same shape to reveal another mining passage below. Kori hopped down, and the clamps on Sokka's ankles slid over into the hole and dropped to follow her. "My servants still have the Fire Arm, and no one else even knows about it. I can rebuild elsewhere. P.H.O.E.N.I.X. will rise from the ashes!" She took a low bow stance and flung her arms out wide like wings, propelling her forward to glide along the rock. Sokka's stone shackles were pulled along behind her, dragging his feet across the uneven stone floor with enough speed to make him ramp off the bumps in the crudely carved tunnel.

It was just as well that the bumpy travel kept Sokka from delivering more of his wonderfully clever banter, because he was pretty sure that Kori wouldn't appreciate his criticizing her use of metaphors that were tired back when Azulon first noticed the Water Tribes.

Behind them, he heard something like an avalanche, and light streaming down into the tunnel was cut off like the lid had been laid down on a coffin.

* * *

Mai returned to Kori's crazy underground dining room just in time to see it collapse into rubble.

Her innards went cold and the only thought that was able to grind its way through her frozen brain was that she had just witnessed Sokka's death, but Mai didn't need warmth to operate. The gears and springs in her head shook off the ice and got moving again, and she remembered two things: Sokka was too resourceful to die in such a way, and Kori was an Earthbender.

Okay, then. Time to find someone with answers.

Mai began running around the pile of rock rubble towards the mining pit she had seen earlier, towards the crane mechanism that had been built over it like a bridge to the Spirit World.

She ran towards the source of the earlier shots.

She ran towards the Fire Arm sniper.

Kori hadn't said who was 'Smellerbee' and who was 'Longshot,' but Mai was willing to be that the one with the aiming skills was Longshot. He fired again as she ran, but Mai was zigzagging like Ty Lee on a sugar rush, doing her best to throw off not only his aim but also his expectations. As she closed in on the pit, she was able to make out the details of the scaffolding above it, and was surprised to recognize some of the components. It was a lot like the mechanized gondola system used at the Boiling Rock prison her uncle ran back in the Fire Nation, but instead of standard people-carriers, it supported an odd assortment of platforms and buckets ranging in size from just large enough to fit a person to bigger than a Fire Nation crawler-tank. A series of thick lines were strung out between two wide towers on opposite sides of the pit that could carry loads back and forth between them, but the towers were also connected by a line of scaffolding into which additional engines had been set. Mai guessed that they could be used to lower and raise things out of the pit, before the the loads were shifted over to the towers. It must be a pretty deep hole to require that kind of complex setup.

As Mai neared and another shot missed her, she pinpointed Longshot standing waist-deep in a bucket-like carrier dangling right over the center of the pit. That certainly isolated him from the rest of the battle and let him take potshots to his content. Mai would have to climb her way over there while dodging fire, and then fight Longshot in a daring midair battle, if she wanted to be difficult about things. Instead, she spotted the controls for the whole mechanism, and threw a knife at the 'On' switch. With a clunk, the engines started up, sending Longshot's perch swaying and starting to carry it back to the closest tower. Mai looked forward to meeting him there.

Then something fast and human-sized bolted out from a shadow, and Mai was disheartened to realize that Smellerbee intended to run interference for her friend. Well, she had no intention of fighting a trained swordswoman again while Longshot got himself stable and took potshots at her.

With a sigh, Mai dashed over to the scaffolding and began climbing, a sword-wielding ragamuffin right behind her.

* * *

There was a light at the end of the tunnel, but Sokka was quick to realize that this reflected neither death, rebirth, nor an end to being hauled around through old mines by a crazy girl with an inferiority complex bigger than Appa's backside. Kori skated into the light of more glow-crystals, and Sokka was dragged along behind her. They skidded to a stop in front of a little jail cell. A portion of the wall had been dug out but left in shadow, and metal bars- probably made from the oh-so-slushing-annoying Yu Dao steel- cut the space off from the main tunnel.

Sokka turned to Kori and brought his hands up as if he could ward off bad ideas. "You don't want to do this. Look, hostages only work if the other side believes you actually have hostages, and Mai is really a stab-first-and-realize-there-were-questions-to-be-asked-later kind of person. Not that I'd shed a tear if you got yourself killed trying to intimidate Mai, but it would inconvenience me a little if you died and no one knew I was down here."

"She's not here to imprison you," came a husky voice from beyond the bars. "She's here to finally deal with me." A rounded shadow moved out of the darkness of the rest of the cell, and Sneers stepped into the light to grip the bars.

Sokka's jaw dropped. "You? _Here?!_" He turned to Kori. "You are the _worst_ girlfriend _ever!_"

Neither member of the couple (ex-couple?) paid Sokka any attention. Sneers stared at Kori, and gripped the bars hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "If Sokka's here, then you've been found out, just like you were afraid of. You're panicking, Kori."

"No! I can fix this! I just need to kill Lady Mai. She's probably fighting your Freedom Fighter friends now. If you help us kill her, I'll let you go. I really did like you, Sneers, but I have a duty to my people I can't ignore. Mai is Fire Nation, anyway. She probably killed lots of people during the war."

Sokka was going to object to that, but before he could, Sneers grunted, "Fine. But then Longshot, Smellerbee, and I are leaving. I don't want anything more to do with Yu Dao."

Kori sighed. "I wish you could have accepted my vision, but I understand." She brought her fists up, bent her arms at the elbow, and then made a yanking motion. The bars of the cell slid down into the earth, and Sneers stepped out. As he walked over to Kori, he reached up to smooth his hairbun and bangs, and then-

-and then he pulled out the cord that held his hairbun in place and wrapped it around Kori's neck.

Both of them went down in a struggling heap, making noises that could never be confused for the sounds of lovers. Kori was gasping and choking with a shallow timbere that spoke to the lack of air passing through her throat, while Sneers was grinding out grunts of, "Traitor!" through gritted teeth. Kori was pulling at the cord around her neck while her face turned colors, but then she collapsed and let her hands fall to the floor.

Then the stone of the floor rose up to meet her hands and cover them like gloves.

Her first punch merely shook Sneers. Her second weakened his grip. Her third rocked him back and left him struggling to stay off the floor. Her fourth put him down.

Her fifth stilled him one last time.

Once the fight was over, Kori lost her manic strength. She panted and struggled to rise, and eventually had to lean against the cave wall to manage it. It would have been a great time for Sokka to strike and defeat the villain like a true hero, but Kori's distraction and weakness didn't have any effect on the rock she had willed to keep Sokka's feet locked into place. Once she caught her breath, she looked back at Sokka, muttered, "Just you, then," and once more proceeded to skate along the stone tunnel and drag him behind her on an invisible Earthbending leash.

At least she hadn't noticed him grabbing Sneers' improvised garrote while she had been recovering from the fight.

The cave started sloping upward, and Sokka bided his time while he abided by the universal hostage code.

* * *

Mai flung herself up the last few rungs of the ladder so that she spun in midair, and pulled out a pair of razor discs the moment her boots touched the metal flooring. As soon as Smellerbee's head popped up over the edge of the platform, Mai let fly with the discs, but Smellerbee's reflexes were too good and she let go of the ladder to drop down a rung. Mai had only taken a step forward when Smellerbee reappeared, using the momentum of her fall to swing herself up onto the platform. Her landing was half stumble, so by the time she recovered and drew her weapons, Mai had a pair of knives ready to deflect the swinging swords.

Mai backed away along the platform. She had plenty of room here, as this platform was where cargo would be loaded and unloaded from the crane-like elevators. It stretched out perpendicular to the cables running out over the mining pit, and a mechanized bullwheel was mounted in the center to turn the looping cables and move the cargo haulers back and forth over the pit.

As Mai gave ground against Smellerbee, one of the larger haulers, big and blocky like a tank, swung right in front of her, forcing both fighters to hop back to avoid getting hit. These haulers were nothing more than giant metal boxes, but the top half of every side was cut out to allow full visibility. It swung around the bullwheel, and then passed back out over the pit to travel to the opposite tower.

By then, Mai and Smellerbee were crossing blades again.

Smellerbee was quick and mobile, forcing Mai to fight likewise, but that wound up being helpful in other ways, too. Another crack echoed throughout the giant cavern, and a loud clang sounded where Mai had been standing a moment before. It was Longshot, of course; his bucket had stabilized enough to allow him to shoot again. And now he would be drawing closer to Mai, while Smellerbee kept her too distracted to do anything about the sniper.

Mai decided to user her talent for messing with people she didn't like.

Another tank-sized hauler swung over the platform, and she broke away from Smellerbee to run towards it. She jumped aboard and threw herself flat so that the half-walls would shield her from the Fire Arm. Wu Gi said it could punch through personal armor, but Piandao's sword had resisted it, and the metal of the haulers was thick and solid enough to manage mining operations. Her hypothesis turned to fact when she heard another crack and the wall near her clanged with the impact of the shot.

Ha! Deal with _that!_

Then the hauler shook again, and Mai looked up to see Smellerbee coming to a landing right in front of her.

Mai spun to her feet and flowed into a sidestep as she drew her knives and took a defensive position. That brought her to the other end of the hauler, putting her a few paces away from her opponent.

Mai and Smellerbee eyed each other, looking for an opportunity to strike, sure that her opponent was doing the same. "Sneers said you guys used to be Earth rebels. Did you and your friend with the Fire Arm lose your scruples, or did you miss the fact that Kori has delusions of Fire Nation nobility and she's working for an organization named after the mythical _fire_ bird?"

Smellerbee's grip tightened on her swords. "The Fire Nation is evil, but the Earth Kingdom isn't any better! We went to Ba Sing Se, and that city killed our leader and handed Fire Regent _Zuko_ the world on a plate!" She stabbed out, but Mai retreated a step to put her back up against the wall. The hauler shook a bit with their movement, but both kept their balance. "If Kori wants to make a new nation, Longshot and I will help it happen!"

"And your friend Sneers? I notice he's not around. Did he not buy into this? Or does he hold a grudge against petty things like murdering his family?"

Smellerbee stabbed again, but this time Mai struck out at the blade with one her knives and knocked it wide. Smellerbee brought her other sword up to defend, but that was fine with Mai. She smacked her knives against that blade, too, and was pleased to see Smellerbee wince. "How's your arm? Was it only this morning that I stabbed it?" She moved forward again to press the advantage, but Smellerbee recovered and met her attack. The two traded ground, dancing around each other in the limited space of the hauler. Mai might have been able to push through Smellerbee's defenses, especially with her opponent wounded, but doing so would have meant staying still for a moment, and she was acutely aware that behind her Longshot probably had the Fire Arm loaded and ready to shoot. She let the duel run on while her hauler was carried out over the mining pit, allowing the timing of its movement to embed itself into her senses.

Then, when the feeling came, she feinted at Smellerbee and then broke off as the other took a defensive position. Mai grabbed the pipe-like edging of the hauler's corner and swung herself out to slice at Longshot just as his bucket passed alongside. He must have been expecting it, though, because he brought up the Fire Arm so that the blade on the underside was facing Mai, and used it to deflect her slashes. Her momentum swung Mai around again and she brought her knives up to catch Smellerbee's blades. As the two vehicles moved apart, Mai purposefully kept her back to Longshot as she once again deflected a set of sword swings.

She reached into her own instincts, the nebulous senses that pierced through all manner of distractions to tell her when she had a perfect shot, and for once willfully identified as a target. She saw herself at the focus of piercing eyes, translated her own movements into a discernible pattern, and judged things like distance and breathing and shadows and all the other factors that went into a perfect shot.

In the instant just _before_ Mai's instincts would have her throw a blade with enough strength to make it a streak of light, she dived to the floor of the hauler.

There was a sound like a firecracker, and when Mai looked up, Smellerbee had a hole right in the center of her chest armor.

Before Smellerbee could even think about falling over dead, Mai stood up and pushed the other woman over the short wall of the hauler to fall into the dark depths. She turned around, and saw Longshot standing in his bucket as it was carried away. He was staring with complete shock, his eyes wide enough to burst, and his grip on the Fire Arm was loose. Apparently, he still had one friend he couldn't stand betraying.

Before he could recover or be pulled too far away, Mai ended his misery with the throw of a single blade. Longshot didn't move until it struck, and then he and his weapon both dropped to the floor of his bucket and out of sight.

Some problems just couldn't be settled reasonably.

It was time to take stock of the situation. Mai was now moving towards the tower on the far side of the mining pit, and she could see that, in the distance, the fight between the Fire Army and the P.H.O.E.N.I.X. minions seemed to be winding down. There were a lot more of Zuko's soldiers standing than Kori's minions, and Mai saw no sign of the girl herself. Nor did she see even the smallest flicker of the color blue.

The hauler was pulled into the tower, passing over its main loading platform, but Mai stayed in her ride. It would be a quicker way to get back to the other side of the mining pit, and time might be an issue if Sokka needed her. As she passed out over the pit again, Mai did an inventory of her knives. Her wrist and ankle launchers were all empty, and she was down to just a handful of knives on her actual person. That was the problem with Flying Daggers style. It took a lot of daggers. She redistributed for ease of access while trying to think of a plan. Kori- most likely taking Sokka with her- had gone underground, but where? Probably back to Yu Dao, to make cat-doe eyes at her Mayor father and get some kind of protection, at least long enough to get in touch with this crazy terrorist group she claimed to be representing. Mai would never be able to figure out which tunnels would lead back to the city, so she'd have to get outside again and ride her eelhound back.

The hauler pulled in to the tower where Mai had started her airborne journey and she jumped off, ready to head straight for the ladder down to the cavern. If Zuko tried to stop her, she'd just have to-

And then Kori stepped out from behind the bullwheel and turning mechanism, the Fire Arm in her grip. She kicked a figure out along with her, and Sokka tumbled into view, wrapped in the chain of her meteor hammer.

The Fire Arm was aimed right at his head.

The viciousness of Kori's smile was only enhanced by the burns all over her face. "Hello, Lady Mai. Let's have you back up a bit, so that these haulers don't get in our way, and then I want you to put your knives down on the floor. All of them." She poked Sokka's head with the dragon-shaped barrel of the Fire Arm, and added, "I've used this before, so don't think you're fast enough to stop me."

Mai knew Kori was right. All it would take was a little finger pressure, and those one of flying pieces of lead would be flying through Sokka long before any blade of hers could reach its target. So, teeth gritted but face utterly blank, she stepped out across the platform in the direction Kori had indicated. Then she began pulling her knives one by one and laying them out on the floor. She put out a fair number, enough to satisfy Kori, and then raised her hands. "All done. What next, exactly?"

Of course, Mai knew what was next. Kori wanted to kill her, and then kill Sokka. Giving in to her would accomplish nothing but playing for time, but time could be as valuable as gold, as valuable as dinner to the starving. Zuko and his troops might finish up and come looking for her, or Mai would get an opportunity to throw one of her last blades right between Kori's eyes.

Kori smirked. "Since you carry so many blades around, why don't we make sure you didn't forget one or two? It would be a natural mistake. Take off your clothes so that I can be sure you're completely disarmed." She poked Sokka with the Fire Arm again.

He, in turn, grunted. "You've threatened me already. Doing it over and over just makes you look insecure."

Kori poked him a third time, harder, and it took all of Mai's self-control not to taunt the other woman mercilessly. That wouldn't accomplish anything just now, and considering that Kori was crazy, flinging sarcastic comments would be too dangerous even for the worst action-addict.

Mai took off her black overvest, revealing one set of empty holsters for her knives, and then shed those as well and dropped them beside her weapons on the floor. Next, she shed her red blouse, revealing yet more blade repositories, and the sleeveless top she wore below that. Kori poked Sokka again when she saw the two razor discs that Mai had 'accidentally' left in their sheathes, so she doffed all those holsters and added them to the pile. Next, she undid her belt and got rid of her outer slacks, showing off some leg, her shortpants, her Piandao sword strapped to her right leg, and a dangling work belt that normally would have had its pouches stuffed with razors, but now had just one that glistened in the light of all the glow-crystals. With a sigh, Mai deposited the sword and the belt on the pile with the rest.

She raised her hands again. "So, you want me to go down to my wrappings, or is what I'm wearing tight enough to prove that I don't love knives nearly as much as gossip claims?" It felt strange to be underground, on a battlefield, without the weight of at least her layers of sheathes to insulate her from the world. Even at the beach, she wore several holsters with stainless steel blades hidden away.

Sokka looked stricken, but Kori just shrugged and said, "That's enough, Lady Mai. I have no desire to humiliate you in front of your boy here. You may keep what modesty you have... and take it to your grave."

Then she raised the Fire Arm to point straight at Mai's head and pulled the trigger.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	8. We Have All the Time in the World

**We Have All the Time in the World**

Sokka had a perfect view from the floor, wrapped in chains, as Kori aimed the Fire Arm she had looted from Longshot's body at Mai's head and took the shot. Time seemed to slow as the trigger clicked, and Sokka saw Mai start to twitch just before the hammer of the Fire Arm snapped down and ignited the explosive powder within the weapon. The projectile moved too fast for Sokka to see, but smoke exploded out of the mouth of the golden dragon molded into the barrel, and in this slowed-down state he almost thought he saw the individual particles of dust swirling in the air.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!"

The only clue that he was one screaming was the raw feeling of his own throat.

Then time snapped back to its proper flow- there was probably a Timebender off to the side somewhere, freezing things up the way Katara did when she was in a frosty mood- and the results of the shot were visible.

Mai was minus a dumpling-shaped hairbun on her left side, and from the same space a long bang was now hanging free. It swung out as Mai spun and reached behind her back. Sokka caught of glimpse of something _white_ hanging down Mai's back, dangling down from somewhere in her hair to lie flat against her sleeveless undertunic, and then she yanked it free of its string and whipped it into the air. Kori managed to shift the Fire Arm just in time to prevent the knife from sinking right into her chest, and the blade- white like _bone_- clicked off the gold skin of the Fire Arm right near the trigger. Kori gave a little cry and pulled her right hand away to reveal a finger gushing blood.

The whalebone knife, Sokka's present to Mai twice-over, clattered to the ground right beside him.

Heh. Even when she missed, Mai was on target.

While Kori started swinging the Fire Arm around like a club and Mai ducked beneath it to grab for some of her surrendered knives, Sokka wormed over to the whalebone weapon. His hands were pinned to his sides by the chains he was wrapped in, but that was fine. Kori had secured them with a rock latch behind his back that she made from the spiked head of the meteor hammer with her Earthbending. Now, Sokka angled the knife in his hand, pressed it against the latch, then lifted himself up, and flopped back down on his back to smash the floor against the knife, the knife against the stone, and neither the stone nor the knife against his soft yielding flesh if at all possible please.

There were metal blades designed to break rock, and Sokka had seen Mai do the same trick even with lesser knives by focusing her energies into her strikes. Sokka, however, couldn't do that type of thing while tied up, and most cutting edges would be ruined by the kind of rock that Kori had chosen for her weapon.

Sokka, however, had first-hand experience with the toughness of elephant-whale bone.

Although it hurt Sokka to damage a good blade, there was an undeniable sense of satisfaction when he felt the stone latch shatter from the impact even as the bone itself cracked along with it.

He shook the chains off and pulled out the garrote with which Sneers had tried to kill Kori in the most brutal breakup that he had ever heard of. Then he made his own feelings about Miss Morishita clear by kicking the chains over at her feet and leaping at her with the garrote ready. The chains tangled haphazardly around Kori's ankles. She came to halt, but swung the Fire Arm out towards Sokka. He caught it around the barrel with the cord and then did a quick wrap'n'yank to pull it out of Kori's grasp.

Then she punched him in the face and Sokka went down again hard.

Slush.

* * *

Mai was fully immersed in the fight, and as soon as Kori was rendered weaponless, her mind started breaking down the individual steps that would lead to victory.

Even as Kori was shifting out of her haymaker stance and groping at her feet for the chains of the meteor hammer, Mai was stepping forward and twirling her knives into reverse grips. She sliced in at Kori, and the other woman raised her arms defensively as though blocking a punch. Mai's blades were very much not blunt objects, though, and the blows drew long red lines across Kori's skin. Even that was just a set-up to the next stage, in which Mai swung the handles of her knives outward again to smack Kori's arms wide and away from her body. With Kori's center exposed, Mai twirled her knives again, shifted her wrists, and lunged.

Each blade jammed between Kori's ribs, one on each side.

Kori made a wet gasping sound, and looked Mai straight in the eyes. Although the skin around them was scalded and weeping, the eyes themselves were healthy and not without a brown beauty.

Mai stared back without emotion, yanking her blades back out, and turned away from those eyes. She heard Kori tumble, and glanced back to see the other woman fall over the edge of the platform to the cavern floor below.

It ended with a crack.

Mai relaxed her fingers and let the knives drop to the floor. They were good blades, but she didn't want them anymore. She never kept the weapons and equipment used for the dirty work.

Never.

The Mechanist always complained about that.

The cool air of the cavern licked hungrily at Mai's bare skin, and she indulged in a single shiver before locking the whole situation away and putting her mind on the task of getting herself back to a state of safety and comfort, preferably involving a cup of tea, several layers of silk robes, and food that wouldn't explode when handled roughly. A hairbrush would be good, too.

"Mission accomplished," she whispered.

Mai turned to find Sokka staring at her, and raised her sharpest eyebrow.

In response, he walked over and threw his arms around her.

It was a strange feeling. Sokka's arms were bare, as was his intriguing wont, and Mai herself was in something less than a state of proper dress, leading to significant skin-to-skin contact. She couldn't remember the last time she had so directly _touched_ someone. At least, in a nonviolent way; fingers jammed in eyes, as was sometimes necessary in her line of work, didn't count. The sensation was even more personal than the way Sokka had held her when they danced the night before, warm and scary and comforting and weird all at once. It was something she thought she might like more of, time permitting, and made forgetting about Kori much, much easier.

It was Sokka who pulled away first. "Wait, we aren't done yet. Wasn't there a ridiculously dangerous Fire Nation weapon thingy that should be classified with all those secrets mankind isn't supposed to know?" His eyes shifted around, and when they finally came to a rest, Mai followed his scrutiny to the Fire Arm itself, lying harmlessly on the floor beside them. It really did look like something the spoiled teenagers of Ember Island would use to inhale mistweed vapors, the stuff Ty Lee had experimented with before declaring that her body was a temple to nature and nature had some very specific ideas what got through the doors, even on holidays. Yet, it was a weapon with the potential to end the world. Sokka gave voice to her thoughts: "So what do we do about it?"

"We make a very quick decision. Zuko is coming this way." She nodded over at a different angle, not where a group of Firebender soldiers were running towards Kori's unmoving body, but where Zuko was leading a bunch more of his troops towards the ladder.

The ladder leading up to Mai and Sokka's platform.

Sokka scrambled to pick up the Fire Arm, and looked over at the pile of clothes Mai had shed before. "Do you think you can hide it in your robes?"

Mai blinked and considered that. "Um, maybe if I had fine rope and more than a minute. I can't just stick it down my pants and hold really still."

"Um." Sokka blinked a few times, probably trying to picture that, and shook his head. "Okay, we need to get rid of it, then? Throw it over into the pit? You can make that throw, even with something this heavy."

Mai liked that idea, but then something occurred to her. "No good. You think Zuko wouldn't search down that pit? Miners went down there, so his soldiers could, too. And that's assuming no P.H.O.E.N.I.X. thugs are still waiting around to grab this thing."

Sokka slumped. "So what do we do?"

Mai looked around the platform, seeking inspiration. The section of hair that had been freed from her missing bun whipped distractingly at the edge of her vision, but she ignored it the same way she ignored Ty Lee when the acrobat got to babbling about auras. (What was it about trouble that made her think about Ty Lee so much?) The bullwheel and its mechanisms were still grinding away, but Mai doubted that the gears would be enough to destroy the Fire Arm beyond all recognition. Maybe they could hide it in one of the haulers or giant buckets and try to recover it later? No, that wouldn't work, and it would be creepy if they wound up using the one that for all Mai knew might still contain Longshot's corpse. Then her gaze fell on some wooden crates all the way on the far side of the platform, and she felt her eyes widen when she deciphered the characters on the side. "You wouldn't happen to have any sparkrocks on you?"

Sokka blinked at her. "Yeah, but wh- is that a box of blasting jelly caps?"

Mai allowed herself a smirk.

By the time Zuko got up to the platform, the Fire Arm was nothing more than a glint of gold falling down into the mining pit, and shortly after it was lost to sight, there was a sound like a hundred Fire Arms being activated all at once, and a light struggled to rise out of the darkness, but ultimately failed. The cause of so much trouble was no more. Zuko could only stare at Mai, and it took him a long moment to find his voice. "Was that..."

She nodded. "That was the weapon."

"...The weapon?"

Mai nodded redundantly.

The skin around Zuko's good eye tightened.

Sokka inched away from the other boy and moved closer to Mai.

She almost expected Zuko to turn colors, or snort smoke or something equally tantrum-like, but then he relaxed and actually _chuckled_, a sound Mai hadn't heard since before she could write. He looked at her, shook his head, sighed, and started climbing down the ladder. "I just wish all my betrayers were as thoughtful as you." He disappeared from view, and beside Mai, Sokka let out a heavy breath.

She was going to say something very clever, but then she realized that the echo of the explosion was getting louder- no, the echo had passed, but the cave was _shaking_ now, and getting worse by the second. The edges of the mining pit began cracking, and a large piece of the rim on the far side of the hole crumbled and plunged into the darkness. Sokka looked at Mai, looked back at the mining pit. "I think we used too much blasting jelly. Shall we go with Zuko?"

"The worst he can do is arrest us. Let's get out of here."

They retreated with the Fire Army, leaving Kori's body in her crumbling tomb. After everyone emerged back into the sun, the mine said goodbye with one last massive cloud of dust, and then the earth itself revoked access, permanently.

* * *

Zuko _did_ arrest him, but in Sokka's opinion he was very nice about it. There was no yelling, no growling, and he had his guards use some nice smooth rope instead of chains and manacles. The Prince Regent put both him and Mai in Sneers' massive, empty mansion and forbid them from leaving, something he called a 'house arrest' which Mai had to explain was a common punishment back in the Fire Nation's capital for nobles who broke the law but didn't actually tick off the Fire Lord. (She implied the latter kind of transgression was infinitely more fatal.) Sokka, who in his youth had once been confined to a single igloo with three other people for a solid week of the worst winter in the history of the Southern Water Tribe, just shook his head and didn't say a word.

He and Mai were pretty much the only people in Yu Dao still under lockdown, though. Zuko had emptied the city of most of his soldiers to supply the battle down in the caverns, leaving just enough to help the local militia keep the peace in the sudden vacuum of tyrannical authority. While Mai passed the time throwing playing cards at a hat she found in one of the closets, Sokka watched out the windows as the people of Yu Dao got used to a city that didn't have soldiers on every block. The citizens worked together to distribute food, and maybe Sokka was a little biased, but it looked to him like more of the packages flowed towards the bigger houses. He liked to think that the other neighborhoods, with their scrapyards and old brothels, had their own supply chains that he couldn't see from this cavernous mansion, but he resolved to tip Aang off to make sure. There was more work to be done in the colonies than simply thwarting organizations of megalomaniacs and destroying weapons from out of tales of evil spirits. Those kind of situations were more common than Sokka would have expected a week ago, but people couldn't be saved just by adventure alone.

Thanks to Sokka and Mai's efforts regarding said crazy people and crazy weapons, when the Earth King arrived the next day with his own army, he found a free Yu Dao and Zuko's disarmed forces camped in a nearby valley. The Earth Army in turn picked out its own valley to temporarily settle, and messages were sent to politely ask the Avatar to give up his now-irrelevant negotiations with Azula and please come help make sure both sets of antsy soldiers left without incident, thank you.

While everyone waited, a single visitor showed up at Sneers' mansion. Mayor Morishita, it seemed, had the authority to override a house arrest, or else the two constables outside- who indirectly worked for the man, of course- were under that impression. Sokka and Mai received him in the parlor, and as soon as he stepped into the room, he plopped into a chair and slumped like a wilted snow flower. "The Fire Regent told me what happened in the caverns. To- to Kori."

Sokka stiffened in his own seat on the couch, and threw a glance back where Mai was standing behind him. She was completely blank, of course, and if she had any feelings about the matter, she was hiding them well. As Sokka had witnessed firsthand, those robes could hide quite a bit, and not even in the implied sexy way that most men would be thinking of when using such a turn of phrase. He faced the Mayor and said, "I'm sorry."

Morishita nodded. "Thank you. I still can't fathom how she got mixed up with whatever was going on down there. It would be easy to blame that Sneers boy, but- but I knew his uncle, and Kori seemed to like them both so much. I can't imagine that she could be that wrong about someone. I can only think... that Kori and Sneers thought they could stop whoever had stolen the weapon, but-" His voice broke. "They aren't professionals like you and Lady Mai. _Why_ would she think to try?"

Sokka's jaw dropped. Huh, Zuko was getting good at lying, wasn't he? He supposed it made sense to cover up the truth, in this case. As Sokka himself knew well, lies were weapons just like any other, and they could be used to defend the innocent just as much as they could be used to destroy your enemies.

Still, Sokka resolved that however nice Zuko could be with his helpful troops and silly house arrests, they would never play a game of cards together.

With a whisper of silk, Mai stepped forward and bowed to the Mayor. She wore her hair differently now, eschewing her usual tailed style in favor of a complicated set of loops in the back, but the portion of hair left short by her lost bun was free to dangle beside her face, and it hung low as she dipped. "I wish we could explain it to you, sir. Rest assured I intend to track down the people ultimately responsible for this whole incident. In my capacity as a professional, of course."

Sokka had to resist the urge to grin. Mai knew a thing or two about lies, too.

They chatted a while longer, with the Mayor describing a note he got by messenger hawk that both Aang and Azula were coming to help peacefully settle the situation, and that their discussions hadn't been entirely pointless. "The letter didn't go into details," Morishita said, "but it said they had decided that the Harmony Restoration Movement was in need of revisions, and as long as the Earth King was here, they wanted to get his approval for their compromises."

Sokka let out a breath, and felt some chronic tension leave his body with it. "I might be giving warriors everywhere a bad name with this, but I really do like it when problems can be fixed without another round of fighting. As much as I want to take my club to some of the people we have to deal with, it's nice when talking actually works."

Mai rolled her eyes at him before once again donning her mask of indifference.

The Mayor eventually took his leave, leaving Mai and Sokka alone in the mansion once more. It had been a situation that Sokka was pretty sure wouldn't meet the approval of his Gran-Gran, but the 'one thing led to another' that happened was very much not what Gran-Gran would have imagined. A comment about Mai's tendency to throw playing cards when knives weren't available led to discussions about all the various objects that could become deadly weapons when thrown fast enough, which in turn led to a brief war of flung chopsticks (Sokka lost), which finally led to a dinner that could be eaten with their hands without too much mess. It wasn't until after they had enjoyed their fill that the subject of Them came up.

"So," Sokka said as innocently as possible, "where do you think you're heading once Zuko forgets he arrested us?"

Mai was idly twirling a toothpick like one of her stilettos. "Let's cut to the chase and admit that you're really asking if we'll be leaving together or in different directions."

"Um, okay."

Mai flicked the toothpick onto her plate and crossed her arms over her chest. "I stand by what I said. I don't want to be alone anymore, I want to be with you specifically, and I like that our lives will provide us with interesting times."

"I sense a 'but' in there."

"...no crude wordplay?"

"I didn't think you were the type to like butt jokes."

"Hm. Well, if you come up with any really good ones, you have my permission to give them a try without fear of stabbing." Her lip twitched. "The 'but' is that I'm not very experienced with balancing life. I've been Azula's tool, I've been the dutiful daughter, and I've been Iroh's secret agent. Doing more than one thing, and making them work together, is... new."

Sokka smiled. That was the most adorable hang-up about a relationship he had ever heard. "Do you might if I offer suggestions? At the appropriate moments?"

"That would be acceptable. Incidentally, now would be an appropriate moment for a kiss." Sokka happily indulged her.

Afterward, they leaned back to their seats and Sokka decided that he had enough room for another moonpeach after all. While he bit into the fruit, Mai reached for her toothpick and said, "Do you think Zuko and Azula came to an agreement this easily?"

Sokka grimaced in the middle of swallowing and as a result had to deal with a minor brush with death by choking before he could respond. "If they did, it was hopefully with less way kissing."

And so the days passed until Sokka heard a familiar monstorous groaning sound echo in the skies above the city. He jumped up immediately, scattering playing cards all over Sneers' parlor. "That's them!"

"Great." Mai laid her own cards down. "Let's find out if we really managed to save the world, or just pushed off war for another few weeks."

* * *

The Avatar came, Mai dragged Sokka out of Sneers' mansion without waiting for Zuko's permission, and the armies were finally sent back where they came from to prepare for the next potentially fatal misunderstanding.

A few days later, the world leaders assembled for another party in Mayor Morishita's front hall. Mai was inclined to skip it, but Iroh arrived just before the festivities and promised to serve tea for the occasion. The tea itself wasn't much of a draw for her, as Mai could get it anytime back in Ba Sing Se, but Iroh didn't like to see antisocial behavior in his best agents. Better to save her antisocial tendencies for when he wasn't around.

The party started with the speeches this time instead of saving them for the end, and Aang kicked things off with a short welcome that was long on platitudes. Zuko took over from there, and Mai could once again hear the speechwriter behind his words. Surrounded by the other world leaders- Aang, Azula, the Earth King and his generals- Zuko explained from the top of the main staircase, "...renegotiate the Harmony Restoration Movement. The colonies will still be transferred back to the Earth Kingdom on schedule, but his majesty the Earth King has agreed to grant every city and province a one-year grace period, at the end of which the people may decide their own fate. Referendums will be held, and based on the results, each colony might stay with the Earth Kingdom, return to Fire Nation rule, or declare sovereignty either as a single city-state, or as part of a recognized league. The Avatar will oversee..."

Mai listened from the crowd, invisible in a new hair style and green clothes.

Or rather, almost invisible.

Sokka stepped around several of the Yu Dao elite to settle at her side. "I'm surprised you came."

Mai eyed him. "Speeches are boring, but it's not like I had anything else to do."

Sokka smirked at her, and then lifted his chin in the direction of the staircase, where Zuko waved to polite applause and stepped aside for the Earth King to add his own comments. "I figured you'd want to stay away from Azula. It's one thing to know that you're alive, but it's another to actually be within lightning-spitting range, you know?"

"I do." Mai smirked back at him. "But even Azula isn't infallible, and you might have noticed that I enjoy a certain amount of danger."

"Speaking of danger, did you see General Iroh, before? He must have left Ba Sing Se as soon as the lockdown was lifted, but I don't know how he could have no so quickly."

Mai gave a practiced shrug. "He has his ways, and he was highly motivated. He hugged Zuko as soon as they laid eyes on each other, and proceeded to give him a lifetime's worth of berating. Zuko deserved it, but even I felt a little sympathy for him seeing it in action."

Sokka chuckled. "So did Iroh have anything to say about P.H.O.E.N.I.X.? Did he have a mission for you?"

Mai brushed her stray lock of hair aside. That was starting to become a habit; she hoped she would be able to get over it when the hair grew back in. "He never heard of it before, but you can bet that the White Lotus will be looking into it. He didn't have an immediate mission for me, though, so I guess it's back to boredom." Mai thought about leaving it there, but as she said, danger made her feel alive, so she added, "Unless you have some suggestions for keeping things exciting?"

He looked over at her with wide eyes, and then displayed a smile so huge that it almost pushed his eyes shut. "Well, Aang and Katara are going to busy overseeing this new Harmony Restoration Movement stuff. The first colonies were given back to the Earth Kingdom a year ago, so they're coming up on picking their own fate and stuff. But they're not expecting trouble or anything. It's just about being there to set a good example for the world. Nothing they need dangerous secret agents for."

Mai shifted her weight so that her arm- with that same stupid bare shoulder style that he had liked on her other dress- was pressed against Sokka's. "So are you up for a little traveling, maybe?"

"That sounds pretty good. I never really got to explore the Fire Nation, aside from helping to conquer some of it. That really cuts down on the tourism possibilities, you know? And if Zuko and Azula now know you're alive, it'd probably be polite to let your family in on the secret. Open secret. Is an open secret a secret?"

That was an interesting idea. Mai wasn't getting her hopes up for her parents, but Tom-Tom should be speaking by now. She wondered if he knew how to say her name. "That's one goal. Before that, there's a circus in the southern Earth Kingdom I should really track down. It'd be nice to surprise Ty Lee, for once."

"You know what you call two goals that lead into each other?" Sokka waggled his eyebrows. "A plan!"

"How novel."

"I... I have to admit, my plans don't always go smoothly."

"Yes, I recall you running naked through an enemy tourist trap, at one point."

"Hey, _that_ was just an amazingly unlikely sequence of events. Not repeatable. So don't get your hopes up."

"If you say so." Mai showed him a small smile, and then noticed that the crowd around her was in motion again. "I guess the speeches are done."

Sokka went up on the tips of his toes and peeked around. "Yeah, looks like they're setting up a dance floor again. Aang never gives up an opportunity to boogie."

Mai brushed her stray lock of hair away and held out her hand. "Shall we?"

"Since when do you want to dance?"

"I crave danger, remember. So trying not to make a fool of myself in front of you while avoiding Azula's notice? And it will be fun escaping if she sees me and the ash hits the wind. For now, though, I'm still a secret agent. The cover I'm adopting is a bored heiress doing her duty, and the only thing keeping my character sane is the prescence of her Lover." His hand settled into hers, and she led him deeper into the gathering. "Guess what part you play?"

But, of course, he already knew.

**END**

**MAI WILL RETURN**

**IN**

**THUNDERBOLT**


End file.
